Mumbai: A sessions court has sentenced a 32-year-old man from Malwani to life imprisonment for killing his cousin following a dispute over providing the CCTV footage to the police, who were hunting for the convict in another case. Six other accused – the man’s siblings – were awarded two years of imprisonment for unlawful assembly.
Sultan Shaikh, the complainant and father of victim Nazir, resided with his family, including two sons and three daughters, in Malwani. His sister-in-law, Naseem Qureshi, lived in the same lane with her four sons, two daughters and her husband.
As per the prosecution, the police were looking for Shahrukh, Naseem’s son, in a case, the details of which were not specified. On October 11, 2020, the police visited the area and saw a CCTV camera installed outside Shaikh’s house. His daughter showed the footage to the officials, after which they left.
This irked Qureshi who visited Shaikh’s house and argued with him. Later, her another son Shahnawaz arrived and asked him to meet outside to resolve the dispute. When Shaikh and his sons, including Nazir, reached the spot, they were attacked by Qureshi’s children, said the prosecution.
It added that they fatally stabbed Nazir and also attacked neighbours Faiz Shaikh and Rakesh Pandey when they tried to help. The trio was taken to a hospital where Nazir was pronounced dead.
Public prosecutor Sudhir Sapkale examined 17 witnesses, including Faiz and Pandey. Pending the trial, Shaikh passed away on November 18, 2023. The court, however, held only Shahnawaz guilty of murder, while acquitted the others of murder charges.
It reasoned, “From the facts and circumstances, it is evident that the common object of the assembly (of the accused siblings) was to voluntarily cause hurt to Sultan.” Therefore, it cannot be concluded that they were aware their actions could result in Nazir’s death, the court said. Hence, except for Shahnawaz, others cannot be held liable for murder, it added.