MUMBAI:For the last six months Marathi theatre producer and his family were living sleepless nights and harassment from the building residents for cooking and eating non-vegetarian food in their fourth floor Dahisar flat in Bonaventure Society on Rangnath Keskar road. The situation worsened on Thursday when the residents—majority of them non-Maharashtrians—attacked their flat doors with eggs.

Even some of the residents slapped and threatened the producer and Income Tax Officer Govind Chavan’s (48) 12-year-old son in front of the cops that were called to the spot. After learning about the incident the Shiv sena led a protest rally outside the building and the situation was brought under control after police reached the spot.

Chavan’s family have asked the cops to get the closed-circuit television (CCTV) in the building premises which is an evidence to the entire incident that occurred in front of the cops in the night. There are 90 flats in the 18-storey building were Chavan’s family has been staying since last two years. “I own the flat. But the building residents, majority of them Gujarati and Marwaris, wanted me to sell my flat and relocate to some other place because we cook non-veg food. We have been facing the ordeal for the last six months and even many of them in the past have tried to fix me in false allegations,” Chavan told TOI.

Thursday night incident has left Chavan’s wife Anita in a state of shock and has to be get medical assistance. Chavan was out for work and learnt about the incident at 1.30-2am when returned back home. He said over 50 people residing in the building threw eggs and threatened his family members. “I did not sleep the entire night on Thursday and even did not cook food the next day. I am not keeping well due to the trauma faced,” Anita told TOI.

Chavan alerted the MHB Colony police about the incident and his wife and children were called to the police station on Friday evening to lodge the complaint. The senior inspector of MHB Colony police station, Subhash Chavan confirmed TOI about the incident. Chavan said they are have recorded statements of Chavan family. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone XI) Vikram Deshmane said the FIR has been registered against the society members who assaulted the complainant’s family on Thursday.

Hundreds of people residing in the building has refuted the allegations that has made against them by Chavan and his family. The residents also turned down the allegations that they have discriminated Chavan’s over cooking non-veg food. The exact cause that led to the incident is there has been a dinner together in the building premise garden on Thursday night. “During the dinner get-together 3-4 times the Chavan’s three waste water and also garbage spoiling the get together. This irked the residents making us rush to Chavan’s flat to check the reason for their act. Chavan’s completely blow the matter out of proportion. Instead the Chavan’s attacked and abused us,” a building resident, Dikshit Jain told the media present at the building.

Another building resident, a Maharashtrian woman, said that there are types of communities residing in the building. So the matter of discrimination does not arise at all. “Chavan claim that they have been discriminated from cooking and eating food is totally false. The entire problem has began with society issues. And Thursday night’s building get-together ignited the entire problem between Chavan and few members of the society who has problem with each others,” said the woman requesting anonymity.

Deshmane said that they are probing the exact cause for the entire matter. There are counter allegations from both the sides. “Chavan’s complaint has been taken. The society members claimed that it is the society matter that led to the incident while Chavan claimed that he has been discriminated which we are probing,” said Deshmane.

Chavan denied of any get-together or any party he or his family is aware of celebrated by the residents in the building. “Somehow of them residing in the building often have dinner party which we are unaware of. Also the residents claim that we threw waste water and other materials from our window is baseless. At 11.30pm my wife and daughter was sleeping and we do not cook at that time.” “The residents came knocking my door thinking that the water was thrown from my flat which is not true,” he claimed.

Meanwhile the MHB Colony senior inspector Subhash Chavan said they have registered the FIR on Chavan’s complaint. Further probe is on to record statements of all the parties involved in the allegations. Till late night there was no counter complaint that has been registered.

Chavan has produced over nine Marathi plays in the last 15 years under Supriya Productions (the banner which is run by his daughter).