A Hindu youth and two of his accomplices mercilessly beat up 46-year-old Zakir Miya Shaikh at the latter’s home in Thane district on Eid al-Adha day
Team Clarion
MUMBAI – A Hindu youth and two of his accomplices mercilessly beat up a 46-year-old Muslim man at the latter’s home in Maharashtra’s Thane district on Eid al-Adha day (June 17) for opposing a proposal for an inter-faith marriage of his daughter.
Reports say Zakir Miya Shaikh was celebrating the Eid feast with his family when Avinash Khairat and two of his friends barged into his house and started beating the occupants, including Shaikh and the two women present in the house. Shaikh was rushed to a hospital with severe injuries, where he breathed his last the following day.
It is claimed that Khairat was in one-sided love with Shaikh’s daughter and wanted to marry her. Shaikh was vehemently against the interfaith marriage and that enraged Khairat.
According to the police, the three men entered Shaikh’s three-storey residence, hurling derogatory remarks at him. They then assaulted him with sharp-edged weapons and sticks.
Shaikh was well-known for his kindness in the community. The Kalyan Taluka police stated that the trio had known Shaikh’s elder daughter for a long time, and one of them was in a relationship with her, which Shaikh opposed.
“The accused had repeatedly proposed to marry Zakir’s daughter, but his proposals were consistently rejected. On the day of Eid, he visited Zakir’s home to discuss the marriage proposal again, but the situation escalated into a physical altercation. Everyone who tried to intervene was pushed aside and sustained injuries,” the investigating officer said.
The officer added that the trio brutally assaulted Zakir. He was immediately taken to a nearby hospital and later transferred to Chhatrapati Shivaji Hospital in Kalva due to severe injuries. Zakir passed away late Tuesday night, prompting the Kalyan Taluka police to register an FIR under Section 302 of the IPC for murder and start searching for the trio. The Titwala Taluka police have detained two individuals in connection with the case.
Haider Shaikh, the son of the deceased, said that they were not present at home when his father was assaulted.
“We all brothers were at Haji Ali when the incident occurred, leaving my father alone to confront the assailants. One of them wanted to marry my sister against my father’s wishes. We are deeply upset by this incident; there were better ways to approach our family on the issue. We urge the police to ensure severe punishment for the accused,” the distraught son was quoted by The Hindustan Times as saying.
