Brothers kill Ola cabbie over minor injury to mother, arrested

The borthers barged into the deceased’s house and stabbed him multiple times on his head, chest, abdomen and thigh, said police

Mumbai: Two brothers who run a scrap shop in Shivaji Nagar were arrested early morning on Sunday for allegedly murdering an Ola cab driver who used to park his vehicle beside their shop. The duo barged into the deceased’s house and stabbed him multiple times on his head, chest, abdomen and thigh as his car had grazed their scooter, toppling it and injuring their mother who was standing nearby, said police.

Mohammad Rafiq Sharif Abbas Ali Shaikh (above) and his younger brother attacked the cab driver

According to the police, the deceased, 38-year-old Adil Talim Khan, lived in Shivaji Nagar with his second wife; his first wife, from whom he had separated, and their 15-year-old daughter live nearby. The accused – Mohammad Rafiq Sharif Abbas Ali Shaikh alias Papa, 35, and his younger brother, Abdul Karim Shaikh alias Dadu, 30 – also live in Shivaji Nagar and run a scrap shop at plot number 31.

On Saturday, at around 2pm, when Khan was retrieving his vehicle from the parking spot behind his house and beside the accused’s scrap shop, it grazed against their scooter. The scooter toppled over due to the impact and hit the accused’s mother, causing a minor injury on her arm. Enraged, Mohammed Rafiq Shaikh, who was present in the shop, picked up an argument with Khan which soon escalated into a scuffle.

“Bystanders separated the two and prevented the fight from escalating further. But two hours later, Khan returned with two others and assaulted Rafiq Shaikh,” said a police officer.

The two brothers planned to murder Khan after Rafiq’s younger brother Abdul returned home on Saturday evening and learnt about the incident. They visited Khan’s house at around 11pm carrying a chopper and knife and knocked on the door.

“The duo barged into the house as soon as Khan’s wife opened the door and stabbed him multiple times on his head, chest, abdomen and thigh. They did not assault his wife although she was present, making it clear that they intended to kill Khan,” said senior inspector Bapurao Deshmukh from Shivaji Nagar police station.

Khan’s neighbours rushed in to help upon hearing his screams and took him to the nearby hospital, where he was declared brought dead. They also informed the police, who booked the two brothers for Khan’s murder based on his wife’s statement.

“Both the brothers were arrested subsequently from the vicinity of their house,” said Deshmukh.