Family defends 20-yr-old, says he is innocent

Salma Salim Kara, 62, is distraught. In one day, she has lost her elder brother Aziz-ul-Rehman Khan and her 20-year-old nephew has been arrested for his murder. Puja Changoiwala reports.

Salma Salim Kara, 62, is distraught. In one day, she has lost her elder brother Aziz-ul-Rehman Khan and her 20-year-old nephew has been arrested for his murder.

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"Shahjeb did not push my brother," claimed Kara, an Antop Hill resident. "He did not even answer the door. In fact, Shahjeb was the one who took him to the hospital. A nurse told me that my brother had held on to Shahjeb's hands and had begged him not to let go."

Talking about her brother, Kara burst into tears. "He was my mentor," she said. "He would call me Maa because my face resembles our mother's. On October 2, he called me and said he was missing our mother a lot. I asked him to come over. We spent the whole day talking," she said.

However, all was not well. "He was depressed. He had been suffering from depression for over two decades due to several reasons and was also on medication. He said he wanted to say something to me, but could not muster the courage to talk," she said.

"I cannot believe he will never come back," she added.

Other relatives agreed that Shahjeb wasn't responsible for Khan's death. "He is being framed," said a relative, who did not wish to be named, adding that the Versova police arrived at Kokilaben Ambani hospital only at 5pm on Tuesday, although the incident occurred around 10.30am.

When contacted, filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala, son-in-law of the deceased, said, "I am not in a position to speak right now."