The police have registered an FIR under Atrocities Act against the chairman and other office-bearers of a housing society in Thane city for allegedly abusing a flat owner who had a dispute with them over the maintenance bill of his house, a police officer said on Tuesday.

The flat owner, who belongs to a Scheduled Caste, in his police complaint said he had raised an objection over the maintenance charges of R5 lakh levied on him, an officer from Kapurbawdi police station said. He claimed the housing society office-bearers were harassing him since 2016 by way of “wrong billing” and did not give an explanation for it, the officer said. When he approached the society office, the chairman had, in the presence of other office-bearers, allegedly abused him over his caste, he said.