Diva Residents Break Barricade Lock After Funeral Procession Blocked For Toll

A funeral procession was blocked by a locked barricade in the Bedekar Nagar area of Diva, Thane, leading angry relatives of the deceased to break the lock to proceed. The blockage occurred on a private road, which serves as the sole motorable access to a dense residential colony in the neighborhood.

The incident came to light after a video of the confrontation was shot and released online by local activist Amol Kendre on a Friday afternoon. The footage showed the funeral procession stopping midway on the road, with family members carrying the corpse unable to cross the locked barricade.

Relatives of the deceased gathered at the barricade and demanded immediate access to the road. After waiting at the spot for nearly 30 minutes, the frustrated family members broke the lock. This allowed them to transport the corpse to a waiting ambulance so they could proceed to the cremation.

Local residents reported that the road had been barricaded by miscreants who were using the barrier to illegally collect a toll from motorists. The thoroughfare is a vital passage for several housing clusters in the Bedekar Nagar area, but it has been subject to unauthorized blockages.

In his video, Kendre claimed that a few anti-social elements had blocked access to the road to charge money from helpless motorists trying to reach the residential colonies located beyond the barrier. He alleged that repeated complaints to the local municipal corporation and the police had proven futile.

Currently, it is not clear who owns the private road. Kendre questioned how unauthorized individuals could charge money for access, criticizing the municipal corporation for failing to take action despite multiple complaints from the local community.

When contacted, officials from the Mumbra police station stated that they were alerted to the incident on the road. However, the police noted that no official complaint had been registered by any of the parties involved.