Vegetable vendor in Mumbai hangs self after being beaten up and asked to lick spit; 4 arrested

One of the accused spat on his foot and asked Qasim to lick it, said an officer from Cuffe Parade police station

Four people were arrested on Saturday for allegedly abetting the suicide of a 28-year-old vegetable vendor in Cuffe Parade. The police are on the lookout for two more people.

The accused allegedly beat up and humiliated Qasim Shaikh on Friday, a day before he hanged himself.

One of the accused spat on his foot and asked Qasim to lick it, said an officer from Cuffe Parade police station who did not wish to be named.

Humiliated, the vendor hanged himself with a nylon rope at his sister’s home at Babasaheb Ambedkar Nagar in Cuffe Parade, said the officer.

The police recovered a suicide note that blamed five people for the suicide.

The arrested accused have been identified as Ismail Shaikh, 47; Akbar Shaikh, 35; Karunesh Pavshe, 35; and Afzal Qureshi, 44  — all from Babasaheb Ambedkar Nagar.

When Qasim went to his brother’s grocery stall, six to seven people had come there and beaten him up, said the police.

One of the accused, Ismail, threatened to kill Qasim and forced him to lick his spit. The brothers somehow escaped from the assault and went to the police who registered a non-cognisable offence. Qasim hanged himself some time after reaching home, said his brother.