Mumbai: The sessions court has sentenced a 31-year-old man to life imprisonment for fatally assaulting his friend over a monetary dispute in June 2020. The accused as well as the deceased were both drug addicts and used to reside on the pavement near Azad Maidan.
As per the prosecution case, on June 15, 2020, Mohammad Salim Shaikh and Sagar had a fight during which Shaikh hit Sagar on his head with a bamboo stick. The complaint in the case was lodged by a constable, who was on patrolling duty and stopped when a crowd gathered at Bhatia Baugh, near Bora Bazar Chowki.
Both Faught Over Money, Leading To Sagar's Death
The constable claimed that Shaikh was holding the bamboo stick that was used to assault his friend. Sagar’s friend had told the police that the two fought as Shaikh had lent Sagar money, which he refused to return.
Shaikh, in his defence, claimed that Sagar had stolen some articles and was trying to flee when he slipped and fell on the footpath, sustaining injuries. Denying being present on the spot, he claimed that Sagar was a drug addict and fell on his own.
The public prosecutor Ranjana Budhwant examined 13 witnesses, including four eyewitnesses. The court accepted the eyewitness accounts and found them consistent with CCTV footage. The court said, “The evidence of prosecution witnesses is cogent, trustworthy and believable. In such circumstances, the defence of the accused is not probable.” The court further said, “If accused had no intention to cause his friend’s death, he would have stopped after one blow of the bamboo. However, he continued to hit him.”
