Activist assaulted with iron rods

Three of the assailants were arrested by Khar police and later released on bail. They have been charged under Sections 324 (causing hurt) and 34 (abetting crime) of the Indian Penal Code.

Recovering at Bhabha Hospital, Britto, an interior decorator, said he suspected the men who attacked him were hired by “the building mafia” because he is “crusading against illegal constructions.”

For the last one year, Britto has been waging a war against nearly 15 illegal buildings and shops coming up in the area. He has written to senior BMC officials and ministers and managed to get a few of the constructions demolished. According to him, the attack is a culmination of the threats and abuse he has faced in the past for speaking against local builders.

He alleged that last Thursday he was abused by civic officials when he questioned them about a demolition. The same day, Britto added, police officials forced entry into his residence and “harassed” his family.

Reliving last night’s attack, Britto said: “I had barely walked 50 metres away from my house when a group of men, hiding in an alley nearby, accosted me. I think there were five or six of them who jumped at me. They were carrying iron rods and even before I could say anything they started beating me.”

Cowering under the blows, Britto apparently tried to break free and run for help. “I was trying to save my face and run when they brought down the rods on my legs,” Britto said, grimacing in pain. “My right leg is sore and I can’t walk. Then they also hit me on my head. The onslaught would have continued if a young man hadn’t tried to stop them. In the melee, two of them dropped their rods and ran. Two others were apparently arrested.”

May Britto, his wife, heard people shouting outside and peeped out of her window to see what was happening. It was only when a neighbour told her that her husband was the man being beaten up did the horror of the attack sink in. “I ran out and found him lying immobile in a pool of blood,” she recalls. “We went to Khar police station and were taken to the hospital from there. We have filed an FIR.”

Elaborating on the threat from the building mafia, Britto added: “I have been getting threatening calls and even my wife has received some. We had filed police complaints and I had restricted all my movements. In fact, my brother-in-law used to go and pick up my daughter. Last night he was late and so I decided to go.”

The Brittos’ struggle against illegal constructions began with sleepless nights a year ago. A shopping complex was being constructed near their cottage and the construction work kept the Brittos awake all night. Intially, the complaint was just against the ongoing work at night, but slowly Britto took up the bigger cause of encroachments and illegal constructions. The shopping complex was subsequently demolished.

“I was born and brought up in Old Khar village and I want it to be a green and clean place,” Britto said, adding, “I am willing to put up with everything to ensure that everything illegal stays out of the area.”