Mumbai: A courier allegedly attacked two sisters after they chastised him for speaking to them in Hindi, instead of Marathi, on Friday afternoon in Dadar. According to police sources, the courier, identified as Ibrahim Shaikh, 28, had recently begun working for a courier service in Dadar. On Friday, Shaikh had gone to deliver a parcel to the Pednekar family, residing at Gurukrupa Apartment, Shivaji Park.
The Pednekar sisters, Sujita and Vinita, claim the doorbell rang and Shaikh stood outside with a parcel. Sujita Pednekar opened the door. Reportedly, Shaikh addressed her in Hindi and she asked him why he wasn’t speaking in Marathi, the local language. This irked Shaikh and an argument began.
According to the sisters, matters soon got out of hand and an enraged Shaikh attacked Vinita with a pen, when she came to the door on hearing raised voices. Vinita said when she too asked why Shaikh was not speaking Marathi, he became abusive, saying, “Ye kya ******giri hai”. Vinita said, “When I came to check on my sister, I saw him raining blows on her head.
As soon as he saw me, he attacked me with a pen, jabbing it in my face a few times.” On hearing the sisters’ screams, neighbours rushed to their rescue. They caught hold of the accused and handed him to Shivaji Park Police.
Requesting confidentiality, another employee of the courier company said Shaikh was forced to speak in Marathi and reportedly, when he told Sujita, “Main Hindustan me rehta hoon, Hindi baat karta hoon,” this infuriated her and she began to click his picture. According to the employee, Shaikh tried to stop her from doing so and in the process, the pen in his hand hurt the woman.
The police have arrested Shaikh and registered a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code — punishment for voluntarily causing hurt (323), voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapon (324), intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace (504) and intending to insult the modesty of any woman (509).