On Thursday late night, in the Cheeta Camp area of Trombay, a group of men started a fight after one amongst them called the other ‘Billi’, teasingly. The fight that started verbally ended up injuring a 23-year-old man who is currently battling for his life at the Sion Hospital.
The Trombay police arrested two men in connection with the case after receiving a complaint from Arshad Rahim Shaikh, 18. According to Arshad, he, along with his cousin and brother, identified as Siraj Abdul Shaikh, 23, were sitting in a garden at Karbala Maidan in the Cheeta Camp area as usual.
"One of the accused was passing by the garden area, spotted both brothers sitting there, and approached them about why they called him ‘Billi’ on a previous occasion. On this matter, they started fighting with each other, who were later joined by others who were lurking nearby, "said police sub-inspector Sharad Nanekar, Trombay police station.
The term "billi", which means cat, was apparently used by the complainant on a previous occasion, rather frequently, because the accused had greenish-blue eyes, like that of several cats.
The fight started getting aggressive as the accused, Shabbir Mohammad Yasin Shaikh, 24, picked up a bamboo stick that was lying on the ground and started hitting the two victims, brutally. "The area had many construction works going on to the tune of the ongoing Ganeshotsav festival’s pandals, so there were many bamboo sticks which were long and strong, lying down. Shabbir picked one of those to hit the victims. The brother, Siraj, got hit on his head which led to serious skull injuries," said Nanekar.
After the matter was reported to the police, Siraj was taken to the Sion Hospital. The hospital authorities informed the police that Siraj is in critical condition as the skull is ruptured severely.
The police have arrested the two accused after recording the statements from the complainant – Arshad. Along with the two, a friend of the accused, Shahid Abdul, 16, was found to be involved in the fight. "Since he was a juvenile, we booked him and placed him at the Dongri Children’s Home," added Nanekar. This place functions as a juvenile delinquent’s home for children who are below 18 years of age for convicted crimes.
During the course of the investigation, the police found out that the accused were under the influence of drugs when the fight took place and were known to each other for a long time as they are all from the same locality. They were all working as daily wagers at construction sites to meet their ends to survive.
The police have registered a case against the two, including the juvenile Shahid, under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons), 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), and 34 (acts done by several people in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
