Mumbai: Six people, who identify themselves from the LGBTQ community, were detained on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, after a melee ensued between them and hoteliers in the Maheshwari Udyan area in Matunga. However, this is not the first time that these people have created nuisance as it's a daily affair on weekends, alleged hoteliers. In the latest incident, two cops sustained serious injuries, after the group attacked them.
Restaurant owner called police informing "riot" like situation
According to the police, the incident happened on Sunday night and it came to their notice after a restaurant owner called the control room informing them about a “riot” like situation in the area. A team of cops was deployed immediately to the spot. “There were more than 20-30 people, including members of the LGBTQ community. They had entered a Parsi restaurant and were threatening the owners. We tried to stop them but the mob was getting abusive and physical towards everyone, including us,” said a police official.
Recalling the flare-up, a restaurant owner said, “When we tried to push them out of our restaurant, two of them removed their t-shirts and blouses and then challenged us to try touching them. We couldn’t do anything but let them have their ways,” he said.
No shop owner has yet registered a complaint
However, no shop owner has yet registered a complaint against them, said the police, adding that they are scared or they just don’t want to get entangled in 'legal hassles'. “But the situation on Sunday night got exceptionally violent. We had to register a case in order to take action. Since no shop owners or locals were ready to do so, we registered a case suo-moto,” added the official.
Talking to the FPJ, a shop owner said, “They come here every weekend in a huge group. They keep clapping, making weird sounds, and using abusive and vulgar words. Some of our customers have stopped coming to our shops because of them. They are not even scared of the police. If we say we will inform the police, they get even more violent.”
Additional force deployed to bring the situation under control
Additional police vehicles and teams were deployed to bring the situation under control. When the police started to arrest people, several escaped. The six detainees were brought to the Matunga police station at around 3:59am on Monday.
They were identified as Aman Mishra, 22, Malika Khan, 24, Noor Shilpa Patil, 21, Suraj Sakhre, 25, Priya Shaikh, 21, and Durga Rathod, 22. All of them have been booked for unlawful assembly, rioting and deterring a public servant from his duty. They were released later with a warning, said the police.
