Nephew denies pushing filmmaker’s father-in-law

Twenty-year-old Shahjeb Khan, accused of pushing to death the 67-year-old father-in-law of filmmaker Sajjid Nadiadwala, has denied committing the crime, the Versova police said.

The police said they were finding it difficult to investigate the case as there were no eyewitnesses to the incident.

The deceased, Aziz-ul-Rehman Khan, was allegedly pushed to death by his nephew Shahjeb after the duo had an argument outside the latter’s Versova residence on Tuesday morning. Khan was flung over the staircase wall and fell four floors through the gap in the staircase. Residents took him to the Kokilaben Ambani hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries.

“During his custodial interrogation, Shahjeb said he had peacefully asked the senior citizen to leave after he answered the door. He has denied that he pushed him,” said S Bodse, senior inspector, Versova police station.

Another officer who did not wish to be named said, “We have registered the case on the basis of the statement of Khan’s son, Mohsin. Khan told him about the argument and how he was pushed. But there are no eyewitnesses to the incident.”

He added, “We are in the process of recording statements of the staff at the hospital to check if Khan had said something to them.”

The police said they could not record Khan’s statement as he had slipped into coma.

According to the police, Khan and his brother Khalid were involved in a property dispute.

“We are investigating the nature of the property dispute between the two families. There are no official complaints in the matter and we are speaking to the family’s relatives to get more information on the issue,” said Bodse.

On Wednesday, Khan’s sister had said that her brother had been suffering from depression and was on medication. Relatives claimed that Shahjeb was being framed.