Anand: Umreth police have booked five individuals after the chief officer of Umreth Nagarpalika (municipality) was slapped, and members of the anti-encroachment team were attacked during a special drive in the town. The five accused, identified as Jaeed alias Mehboobkhan Amdawadi, Mustak alias Musso Mehmud Miya Balim, Taufiq Pathan, Juned Chaklasi, and Faridkhan Pathan, have been booked for various offences under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), including unlawful assembly, assault, threatening a public servant, rioting, criminal intimidation, and intentional insult to provoke a breach of peace.

Bharti Somani, the chief officer of Umreth Nagarpalika, was slapped when she arrived at the scene where the municipality’s team was removing illegal hoardings on government land, placed by a private developer, on Saturday evening. According to her complaint filed with the Umreth police, the incident took place while the team was removing the hoardings near an ice-cream shop close to Bhagwat Dalal Gate in Umreth. The boards, promoting a scheme by a private developer, were placed in an area designated by the municipality.

The accused objected to the removal of the hoardings and are believed to be associated with a private contractor. They threatened Nitin Patel, a clerk with the municipality, instructing him to summon the chief officer to the site. When Somani arrived, she explained to the accused that the hoardings had been illegally placed on government land.

“I tried to explain that if they wanted to keep the hoardings, they should remove them themselves, but they refused to cooperate,” Somani said. One of the accused, Jaeed, allegedly slapped Somani, while the others attacked Patel and hurled caste-based insults at other team members.

After being threatened with death, Somani managed to escape and reached the police station to file a complaint. The police are currently working on apprehending the suspects. DeshGujarat