MUMBAI, March 8 -- The Samata Nagar police on Saturday arrested five persons for attacking BMC officials who were carrying out an anti-encroachment drive at Kandivali's Lokhandwala Township the previous night. A mob pelted the BMC team with stones and damaged their vehicles, forcing them to flee and take refuge in neighbouring shops. The five accused, identified as Kuldeep Chudawat, 27, Mahendrasingh Chudawat, 27, Shaurya Charla, 31, Jash Charla, 20, and Aslam Imtiaz Sheikh, 27, were arrested and produced before the Borivali metropolitan court, which granted the police custody for two days. All residents of Lokhandwala, they sold paneer and other dairy products in illegal extensions in front of their shops. One of them reportedly owns a restaurant. Assistant municipal commissioner Aarti Golekar, who was present during the special drive, told HT that it was undertaken following complaints that the hawkers, who had been driven away, had returned to their spots late in the evening. Things flared up towards the end of the drive when the BMC team of 14 officers and 22 workers, along with two JCBs and two dumpers, moved from Lokhandwala Foundation School towards Lokhandwala Circle. They had not taken a police team with them to prevent news of their drive from being leaked to the hawkers and alerting them. When they began demolishing the illegal shop extensions, a few persons began hurling abuses at them. According to the FIR, a mob chased them, particularly junior engineer Akshay Joshi, forcing him to flee and take refuge inside Brahmand Supermarket. "He was inside while the rest of the staff guarded him to prevent the mob from opening the grill gate of the shop," said assistant engineer (maintenance) Hemant Pant from R South ward. "The shopkeepers downed shutters to save the officials from the mob," said Shishir Shetty, founder of the Lokhandwala Residents Association (LRA). "The attackers then turned their attention to the JCB driver Kamlesh Nair. They assaulted him, forcing him to abandon the vehicle mid-street and seek shelter in a neighbouring building." The mob damaged the glass panes of the JCB and took away the keys of the dumper. Following this, the BMC officials dialled the police for help. The mob dispersed on seeing the police team arrive. Police has filed a case under relevant senctions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Jaywant Shinde, senior police inspector of the Samta Nagar police station told HT that the five accused were arrested from the area after identifying them on CCTV and inquiries with local residents. "More arrests are due in this case once we manage to identify and track down the other people involved," he said....