Mumbai, March 20 -- Less than two weeks after officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) were attacked during an anti-encroachment drive in Kandivali, civic officials were once again allegedly assaulted, this time outside the Santacruz railway station, prompting the police to register an FIR on Thursday. According to the complaint filed by Laxman Muthe, licence inspector with the H West ward, the incident occurred on March 18 when he and his team reached the Santacruz west railway station area around 7:30 am to act against unauthorised hawkers. As part of the drive, officials began seizing goods and loading them into a tempo. Muthe alleges that a hawker, identified as Ikram Merchant, 36, Shoaib Sayyed, 24, along with two to three associates, intervened and obstructed the operation. Merchant allegedly argued with the officials, created a disturbance in the vicinity, pushed the civic officials, used abusive language, issued threats, and tried to stop them from seizing any of the goods. The complainant termed the act a deliberate obstruction of government work and sought legal action. Merchant, speaking to HT, denied assaulting civic officials and claimed he was only resisting what he described as a one-sided seizure of goods. While admitting that he was an unauthorised hawker, he said, "There are many illegal vendors working here, but only a few of us are targeted because we have not paid a bribe to officials." He added that the allegations against him were true, but described his reactions as normal given the unfair circumstances. Sayyed too told HT that the civic officials were targeting them because they refused to pay bribes. "We have no regrets, we have fought for our livelihood. Do we even have an option? Either we must fight for our livelihood or pay a hefty bribe? If I was capable of paying a bribe, why would I be a hawker?" Sayyed told HT. Responding to Merchant's allegations, Muthe rejected claims of any wrongdoing by civic staff adding that the stretch outside the station had been targeted following complaints earlier that day. He maintained that the eviction drive was part of routine work and that similar drives would continue across the ward. Following the complaint, an FIR was registered on March 19 against two hawkers under relevant sections of the BNS. The police have issued notices to the accused, directing them to appear on March 21 for investigation. The incident comes close on the heels of the attack in Kandivali east, where a civic team was assaulted by a group of hawkers and locals during an eviction drive near Lokhandwala Circle. Officials from the BMC's R-S ward were chased, pelted with stones, abused and assaulted while conducting an anti-encroachment drive on March 6....