Mumbai: Two men attacked and killed a 49-year-old man, Nandlal Kanojia, with a knife and injured his wife Urmila, 40, in an altercation early on Thursday morning at Malad. The Kanojias reportedly tried to stop the accused duo, Amit Saurabh and Anil Mishra, from urinating near their shop. Incensed by this, one of them brought a sharp knife and attacked the husband and wife before fleeing. While Nandlal succumbed to his injuries, Urmila is recuperating from serious injuries at Shatabdi Hospital. Malad Police have registered a case of murder and are on the lookout for the duo.
Nandlal and Urmila had been living in a rented house near Vasri Hill in Malad for the last two months and they had an ironing shop in the area. Saurabh and Mishra, both autorickshaw drivers, had also recently rented a house in the same neighbourhood. The couple had quarrelled with the accused duo last week, after the latter had thrown garbage near the former's shop.
Early on Thursday, around 4am, when the couple awoke, they saw the accused, allegedly in an inebriated state, urinating near the shop. They tried to stop them and a scuffle ensued, in which one of the accused attacked the couple with a knife, said a police officer. While Nandlal was stabbed in the chest and stomach, Urmila sustained serious injuries to her upper body.
A neighbour, Javed Malik, who witnessed the incident and tried to intervene, also sustained injuries. Soon, public began to gather and to avoid being caught, Saurabh and Mishra fled, running towards Goregaon (East) in the Aarey jungle area. The locals rushed the couple to the civic-run Shatabdi Hospital, where Nandlal was declared dead on arrival, while Urmila, whose condition was critical, is said to be recuperating.
The Kanojias' neighbours said, Saurabh and Mishra, both worked as autorickshaw drivers for their landlord, Bhanupratap Singh. One of the neighbours said, "Both of them have been troublesome ever since they moved in a few weeks ago. Last week, they got into a fight with the Kanojias over throwing garbage and had then threatened to kill them." When police enquired with the landlord, he claimed he had not run a background check on the accused, but both are said to be from Uttar Pradesh.
Malad Police booked Saurabh and Mishra under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for murder (section 302), attempt to murder (section 307), voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons (section 324) and common intention (section 34). Police have questioned the accused duo's friend, who had introduced them to the landlord. Officers of Unit 12 of the crime branch have also been roped in to conduct a parallel investigation in the case and are on the lookout for the absconding duo.
