About the Human Rights Defenders: Ms. Anita Das and Mr. Dipak Kumar Singh are General Secretary and President, respectively of the Ranchi Footpath Dukandar Hawker Sangh (RFDHS), a trade union of hawkers, street vendors and shopkeepers in Ranchi. They are also associated with the National Hawkers Federation, and have participated in many struggles seeking recognition and protection for hawkers and street vendors for several years. Background of the incident: On November 22, 2021, at around 10 AM, 5-6 officials from the Enforcement team of Ranchi Municipal Corporation arrived in the Birsa Chowk area in Ranchi in an official vehicle and launched a hawker eviction drive. Although there were many female hawkers and vendors in the stretch between Birsa Chowk and Hinu Chowk, all the officials were men. They forcibly seized the goods and properties of hawkers and street vendors leading to heated arguments, pushed and shoved hawkers when they came in the way, and loaded their goods in the official truck. Some hawkers also tried to unload their goods from the truck. The eviction drive was illegal as the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, mandates that eviction drives can be conducted only after clearance from the local town vending committee. In case of Ranchi, the Town Vending Committee (TVC) met on October 26, 2021, and cleared eviction drives in some areas enlisted in Notice no. 665/DAY-NULM of Ranchi Municipal Corporation, however, there was no mention of the stretch between Birsa Chowk and Hinu Chowk in this list. Details of the Incident: Around 11 AM, leaders of the RFDHS Ms. Anita Das and Mr. Dipak Singh arrived at the eviction spot, and demanded to see the TVC’s permission and the seizure list, as required under Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014. Enforcement officials claimed the eviction was being conducted following orders from the Commissioner of Ranchi, but they failed to show any official papers, and had prolonged arguments with the HRDs. Meanwhile, the enforcement team informed the Daronda Police Station, and at around 12 PM, 3-4 police personnel including Officer in Charge Mr. S Mahasha, arrived at the spot and intervened on behalf of the enforcement team. They left after 15-20 minutes. The arguments and counter-arguments between the enforcement team and the HRDs continued till 1 PM, after which the eviction was called off. Enforcement officers video- recorded most parts of the argument on their mobile phone. On November 22, 2021, a fabricated case (FIR no 261/ 2021) was registered in the Doranda Police Station against Ms. Das, Mr. Singh and others in reprisal for opposing the illegal eviction drive. They were charged under Sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of official duties), 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, and Section 3 (mischief causing damage to public property) of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. The case was based on a complaint signed by Mr. Manoj Kumar and 10 other enforcement team officials, who alleged some people led by Ms. Das prevented them from conducting the eviction drive, misbehaved with them and abused them. Ms. Das and others also damaged the official vehicle and forcibly unloaded some seized goods, they claimed. The FIR was registered by the Officer in Charge of Doranda Police Station Mr. S Mahasha, and Sub Inspector Mr. Om Prakash Toppo was designated as the Investigating Officer in the case. It is clear that the police and enforcement team officials acted with malafide intentions to target the HRDs who were opposing the violation of laws protecting the interests of street vendors and hawkers. Police officials were present at incident spot and witnessed a large part of the arguments and counter-arguments. Yet, they registered an FIR against the HRDs immediately upon receiving the complaint from enforcement officers without even conducting a preliminary probe.