Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: A number of allegations and counter-allegations have come to the fore after the joint eviction of the vendors selling vegetables by the side of the road near the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) by GMC officials and Bhangagarh Police on Thursday.
After the eviction drive, the vendors, mostly women, gheraoed the Bhangagarh Police Station later in the day. During the gherao programme, the police arrested two vendors – Utpal Patowary and Jayanti Paul – and registered a case (85/2020) against them.
A few of the vendors, however, alleged that the lower-rung personnel from Bhangagarh Police Station used to collect money from them with the assurance that they would allow them to continue to sell vegetables there. They are of the view that the police personnel had to evict them today as they were accompanied by GMC officials. “Why do street vendors have to face such atrocities? We make our both ends meet through vending. If the administration doesn’t allow us to sell near the road, why doesn’t it give us a vending zone?” one of the vendors said.
When asked on the allegation, the OC of Bhangagarh Police Station, Khargeswar Rabha said, “The allegation is not true. We’ve evicted them many a time without accompanied by any GMC officials. It’s right that we can’t keep a watch on them all the time since we’ve many other duties to perform.”
When asked if any of his juniors have taken cash from the vendors in his absence, Rabha said, “I can’t make any comment on this. I’ve no knowledge on this.”