Little did the lifeguards posted at Gorai know they would be a targetted by bunch of beach goers for trying to save their lives. On Sunday, a group of 20-25 youth abused and manhandled lifeguard Devram Bhangare, allegedly after he tried to dissuaded them from entering rough waters during a high tide.

The local police have filed a non-cognisable (NC) offence against Bhavesh Tare (21), a Thane resident who along with his nearly 20 friends abused and manhandled Bhangare, who was posted by the fire brigade.

“The group of youths, all in their 20s, was playing at the beach before they began taking to the sea at around 3:40pm (high tide time), when Bhangare and the other lifeguards alerted them against it. The group, however, became violent and began abusing the guards,” said a senior fire official requesting anonymity.

A similar incident took place at Aksa beach in Malad, where a person abused the lifeguard after being asked not to enter the waters.

This is not the first time that the lifeguards have faced beach goers’ wrath. In the over three weeks this monsoon, two such instances, in Dadar and Juhu, were reported. “In Sunday’s case, too, the youths told the guards that they should not be bothered about their lives. In such a case, how are we supposed to save lives?” the fire brigade official asked.

Observing that most drowning death cases involved people inebriated by alcohol, BMC chief officer (disaster management cell) Mahesh Narvekar had, post-Dadar incident, said, “Two of our lifeguards deployed at Gorai cannot prevent a group of 30-35 youths and must bear the brunt of their nuisance.”

Gorai village sarpanch Rossi D’Souza advocated that beach goers, like the local villagers, should follow precautions listed by the civic men. “People coming here from outside the city should co-operate with the guards, who are doing the crucial job of saving lives,” D’Souza said.