Navi Mumbai: Around 80 to 100 residents have been booked for staging a protest outside Rabale Police Station late on repeated power cuts in the Airoli-Rabale area. The protest was held on Friday late night despite prohibitory orders being in force, leading to registration of a case for unlawful assembly and violation of police orders.
The citizens, angered by the frequent electricity outages, gathered outside the police station around 10:30 p.m. on October 11 and staged a rasta roko (road blockade) while shouting slogans against the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL). The agitation, which continued till around 1:15 a.m., disrupted traffic movement in the area before police managed to pacify and disperse the protestors.
According to the police, the protest was organised after residents Sagar Chougule, Bhimrao Dhotre, Ravi Gaikwad, and Rajesh Poyarekar allegedly circulated messages on WhatsApp urging citizens to join the demonstration. Responding to the call, several locals—including Vicky Kushalkar, Amol Galande, Datta Bajad, Akash Jampure, Maula Shaikh, Sachin Nagtilak, Vishal Rajpurohit, Laxman Rathod, and Sameer Shaikh—participated in the protest.
Senior Police Inspector Balkrishna Sawant of Rabale Police Station said, “Despite prohibitory orders being in effect, the residents unlawfully assembled and blocked the road, causing inconvenience to commuters. A case has been registered against them for violating the orders.”
The Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Branch), Navi Mumbai, had earlier issued prohibitory orders under Sections 37(1) and 37(3) of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951, from September 27 to October 11, in view of the festive season and ongoing national events.
Following the protest, Rabale Police booked the accused under Sections 189(2), 189(3), 45, 49, 54, 126(2), and 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Sections 37(1)(3) and 135 of the Maharashtra Police Act.
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