An elderly couple from Bandra was allegedly assaulted by hawkers at the Bandstand promenade in Bandra on Sunday evening. The couple Minoo Patel, 63, and his wife Indira, 59, were out for their daily when they got into a tiff with a woman selling corn-on-a-cob. Minoo said that his wife, who has paralysis, was pushed by a hawker.

Hawking is not permitted on the promenade.

What sparked the argument was that the couple had asked the hawkers about four or five of them to move away as the embers sparked by from coal fire used to roast corn was causing inconvenience to walkers.

“It was a Sunday and the promenade was crowded. It was breezy and the embers from the stove were flying all over.

So, I told the hawkers to move away from the promenade,” said Minoo.

This, however, did not go down too well with the hawkers. “A woman hawker, who claimed to have political connections, abused me and started pushing me. I told her not to fight but she refused to listen and brandished a knife,” said Minoo, that he quickly called up his son and asked him to take Indira away.

Minoo said that the hawker woman was joined by a few others. “They beat me up. My spectacles were broken and I could barely see. They also rained blows on my paralytic wife who was in no position to defend herself,” he said that the crowd came to their rescue till the police got there.

A complaint was lodged at Bandra police station the same evening.

Secretary and trustee of Bandra Bandstand Residents’ Trust, Robin Nath, said, “We have written to the police and civic body to act together and restore people’s faith.”

Additional commissioner of police (west region), Vishwas Nangre-Patil said he is personally looking into the matter.

“We will take preventive measures so that such incidents do not recur,” he said.