Tiff over not wearing mask turns ugly, man shot at twice in Mumbai

According to police, a few days prior to the shooting, Khan’s relative Salim Siddiqui had got into an altercation with one Bunty Rana outside a public toilet.

A 35-year-old man from PL Lokhande Marg in Chembur was injured after being shot at twice by a group of four men over a past rivalry on Wednesday around 3am. The injured man, identified as Sadiq Inayat Khan, was helping a relative get a bail after he was arrested for attacking a man who assaulted him not wearing a face mask in a public place.

One bullet pierced Khan’s left palm while another hit him in the back. He was rushed to Sion hospital where he is undergoing treatment. (HT Archives. Representative image)

According to police, a few days prior to the shooting, Khan’s relative Salim Siddiqui had got into an altercation with one Bunty Rana outside a public toilet. “Rana had confronted Siddiqui for not wearing a face mask. After a heated argument, Rana had slapped Siddiqui. Later, Siddiqui, along with his accomplices, attacked Rana with swords and knives, leaving him severely injured. Siddiqui was later arrested by the police,” said an officer from Tilak Nagar police station.

“Rana’s brother Navneet wanted to exact revenge and decided to attack Khan who was helping Siddiqui with the bail procedure,” said Sushil Kamble, senior inspector of Tilak Nagar police station.

Around 4am on Thursday, Navneet and three of his associates, Samed Tolkar, Yasin Ansari and one Rounak went to Khan’s house and challenged him to come out and face them. After Khan’s wife Mehrunissa opened the door, Navneet fired two bullets at him from a country-made revolver, police said.

One bullet pierced Khan’s left palm while another hit him in the back. He was rushed to Sion hospital where he is undergoing treatment.

The police arrested Navneet, Ansari and Tolkar later in the day.

“They have been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Arms Act for attempt to murder and illegal use of a firearm,” said Kamble.

11 crime branch cops quarantined after a colleague tests positive

Eleven policemen of the Mumbai crime branch have been home quarantined after a 40-year-old police constable from their unit tested positive for Covid-19. Senior inspector of unit-9, Mahesh Desai is among the officers quarantined. The constable, who worked as a police driver from Desai’s unit, was suffering from fever and cough for the past five days. He underwent a Covid test on Tuesday and the next day his report came back positive.

Crime branch sources said that the driver’s 16-year-old son also tested positive. Both are receiving treatment at a hospital in Bandra.

Following their reports, five police officers including Desai, and six constables were immediately home quarantined. They have not shown any symptoms yet and are all healthy.

Man arrested for posing as MCGM official to extort businessman

Santacruz police arrested a man for allegedly posing as an officer of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) and extorting ₹50,000 from a Santacruz businessman. According to police, during the lockdown, the accused would travel between Khar and Andheri in his car and whenever he found any shop open illegally, he would visit it, posing as MCGM official and extort money in exchange for not taking any action.

The accused had threatened the Santacruz businessman of coercive action for violating lockdown orders and extorted ₹50,000 from him. On Thursday, the Santacruz police arrested the accused from Chembur. Police confirmed that the man is a habitual criminal as last year, had posed as a Mathadi kamgar union member, and extorted a businessman.

(With inputs from Manish K Pathak and Suraj Ojha)