Mumbai: Notwithstanding a Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) threat, hawkers on Thursday staged a sit-in at Azad Maidan here, to voice their various demands.
MNS chief Raj Thackeray had recently warned hawkers, not to stage protests or else face "MNS-style" action, but they went ahead with the protest today.
Madan Jaiswal, a 40-year-old hawker operating in Santacruz (East), died during a recent eviction drive ordered by ACP Vasant Dhoble. Hawkers had claimed that Dhoble assaulted Jaiswal, but medical reports said he died of brain hemorrhage.
Azad Hawkers' Union said that the protest was not aimed at ACP Dhoble, but against the delay in implementation the National Vendors' Policy by the state government and the aggressive anti-hawker drive by the police in the past few weeks.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, January 24, 2013, 22:02