A vegetable vendor was arrested on Wednesday after he allegedly got into an altercation with police personnel who were trying to prevent him from violating rules of the lockdown in a containment zone.

The incident came to light after a Twitter user, around 12.30 p.m., posted pictures of people gathered around vegetable vendors at Behram Baug, tagging the Mumbai Police.

A team from Nirmal Nagar police station reached the spot around 1.45 p.m. and dispersed the crowd within 15 minutes. Officers said a group of vendors had set up their stalls in a narrow lane in the densely populated area, giving rise to concerns of infection.

“Moreover, the vendors had set up their carts in a containment zone. While the rest of the vendors complied when we asked them to vacate, one of them got into an argument and started abusing our personnel,” senior police inspector Shashikant Bhandare, Nirmal Nagar police station, said.

The errant vendor, Sufiyan Sheikh, was arrested. He was charged with disobedience of an order duly promulgated by a public servant, negligent act likely to spread infection dangerous to life, and refusal to comply with any direction given by the Centre or the State government, under the Indian Penal Code, and the Disaster Management Act.

Owing to the lockdown, restrictions have been imposed over timings for both residents and vegetable vendors, and specific timings have been allotted in demarcated areas for the sale of vegetables.

“People can go to a nearby market to buy vegetables at the permitted times, but it is strictly prohibited to gather in a small area that has been declared a containment zone,” Mr. Bhandare said.