MUMBAI: A shop owner has complained to the police of being beaten up by a group of “armymen” on Sunday night, after one of them had an argument with his wife over small change . No arrests have been made.

Gupta runs an ice cream shop at Datta Mandir Road, Malad (E). On Sunday, Gupta’s wife was looking after the shop after he went home for dinner. “An inebriated man came to the shop and asked for ice creams. He did not have sufficient change and gave a note of a large denomination. My wife returned the balance amount. But he said she had given him Rs 10 less. This led to an argument. When he started hurling abuses, my wife began to cry. A friend, who was passing by, came to my wife’s aid but was manhandled by the man. My wife called me up and I rushed to the shop,” Gupta said.

Gupta claims that he had seen the man before and that he was an army personnel. “We had a scuffle. The man left but only to return an hour later with a group of 15 others. The group smashed a bottle on my head and pulled my wife’s saree,” Gupta said. Police said none of the accused were in army uniform . “The Central Ordnance Depot is located near Malad and often relatives of army personnel come visiting. We are verifying the identity of the accused,” an official said.

