Mumbai, Jan 08: Haji Saalim Qureshi, the Shinde Sena candidate injured in a stabbing incident during the poll campaign, told the Kherwadi police that he did not see any attacker fleeing the spot. No arrests have been made yet. Notably, he was stabbed in 2017 as well when he was campaigning for his wife.
Multiple teams formed to trace assailant
Multiple teams, including crime branch personnel, have been formed to trace the assailant. “There were no CCTV cameras at the exact spot. However, cameras located outside the locality have been identified, but the footage does not show anyone entering the area,” said a police officer. Investigators are also verifying whether the incident is linked to the 2017 attack.
Statements recorded, victim undergoing treatment
A day after the attack, police on Thursday recorded the statements of Qureshi and the party workers who were present with him at the time of the attack, which took place at Dnyaneshwar Nagar in Bandra East on Wednesday evening.
He has received 56 stitches and is undergoing treatment at Mahatma Gandhi Hospital in Bandra West. Police said that no vital organs were damaged and that his condition is out of danger.
Narrow lane cited as reason for no eyewitness
Qureshi said that neither he nor his party workers saw anyone fleeing as the lane was extremely narrow and could accommodate only one or two persons at a time. “I felt pain in my stomach and realised it was a stab injury only after we exited the lane,” he added.
Police probe all possible angles
A police officer said, “Qureshi was followed by nearly 100 people, including party workers, when they entered the lane. Everything appeared normal until he was about to reach the exit point, where the attack occurred.”
Police said they are probing the case from all angles, including personal enmity, political rivalry and a possible builder lobby angle. A party worker claimed that during a rally on Tuesday, Qureshi had spoken against a builder lobby, after which the attack took place.
Past incidents recalled
In the 2017 BMC elections, Qureshi’s wife had won from Ward 92, and he gained significant media attention after the stabbing incident that year, another party worker claimed.
Two years later, the BKC police arrested Qureshi along with several others in connection with the murder of Aamir Shaikh (56) and the assault on his two friends in Bandra East.
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According to police, the attack was allegedly carried out after the victim and his friends criticised the then corporator and a builder in a social media post. They had opposed a slum redevelopment project undertaken by the builder in Bharat Nagar.
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