The Kharghar police have arrested a 50-year-old owner of a hotel in Kharghar for allegedly assaulting an official of Panvel Municipal Corporation after his hotel was sealed for violating COVID-19 norms. While the incident took place on Saturday afternoon, the hotel owner was arrested on Sunday night.
As per the fresh guidelines issued by the Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC) following a sudden rise in active cases of COVID 19, hotels, restaurants, malls among a few others have to close by 7 pm.
In order to ensure that the guidelines are being followed, the encroachment department head Prashant Gaykar along with Kharghar ward team visited the Kharghar area and sealed six shops, including Reliance Smart, a furniture shop and hotels for violating the COVID-19 norms and keeping their shops open beyond the permitted time.
According to police, the next day local ward office came to know that a couple of shops had opened without permission. When Gaykar visited, he found hotel 12-20 was open and a man around 50-years-old, who identified himself as the owner of the hotel told him that he had opened the hotel. “When Gaykar asked him why he opened the hotel which was sealed by the civic body, the owner began abusing and assaulted him,” said an official from Kharghar police station.
Later, PMC officials lodged an FIR against the man under section 188, 353, 504, and 506. “We have arrested the man and investigating the case,” said the official.
