Mumbai, August 22, 2026: The sessions court has sentenced 39-year-old Afsar Shaikh alias Panchi to life imprisonment for killing his wife Rehana's uncle Zulfikar Choudhari in June 2020 over a family dispute.
Shaikh was booked on the complaint of Nasruddin Zulfikar's son and Rehana's cousin. Nasruddin claimed that Shaikh had married Rehana against the wishes of the family. There were frequent quarrels between the accused and the deceased over this marriage.
Dispute Over Relationship
Besides, it was also alleged that he had developed an illicit relationship with another girl named Rubina. The deceased had objected to the accused living with Rubina and had advised him not to continue the relationship.
About one month before the incident, when the deceased again questioned the accused, the accused allegedly threatened him with serious consequences if he interfered in his personal affairs.
On June 12, 2020, at around 9.30 am, Zulfikar went out for work. After an hour, a woman rushed to inform the family that Shaikh had stabbed Zulfikar.
The eyewitnesses claimed that Shaikh had stabbed him multiple times and threatened everyone to kill them if they intervened. The family members rushed him to Rajawadi Hospital, but he was declared dead.
Prosecution Evidence
During the trial, the prosecution examined eyewitnesses as well as several family members and neighbours to prove the differences between the accused and the deceased.
The prosecution also relied upon the video shot by a person of the incident, but the court discarded it as the police had not followed proper procedure and did not examine the witness who had recorded it.
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ourt Denies Leniency
The court, however, based on the testimonies of the witnesses, held Shaikh guilty and also failed to grant him any leniency, observing that, "the murder of Zulfikar Choudhari occurred in broad daylight. The postmortem report records eleven external injuries inflicted with a knife on the vital parts of the deceased. Consequently, he succumbed to those injuries. The deceased was dressmaker at the time of his death. His family has suffered irreparable pain by losing their head of the family. The nature of the murder and its grave effect on society must be considered."
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