A Sessions court in the city on Tuesday acquitted three persons from charges of attempt to murder including brother of the victim who, according to the police, plotted the murder.
Altamash Shaikh (35) is handicapped and sells dates, chocolates and miscellaneous items at a stall in Kurla (west). The stall belongs to his family but there has been an ongoing dispute around it among family members. According to his lawyer, Prakash Salsingikar, Altamash was fed up of frequent quarrels with his brother and victim in this case Tabrez.
Tabrez, an alcoholic, used to squabble with Altamash over his share in the stall which is why the latter, allegedly paid Danish Ansari (22) and Suleman Shaikh (23) to get Tabrez killed.
Danish and Suleman were known to Tabrez and on the intervening night between October 23 and 24, 2014 they invited the victim for drinks, having drinks at two different places. Later at about 1.30am, they took Tabrez to the Mithi River in Kurla and attacked him with a sharp weapon, leaving him there to die.
As fate would have it however, a lady police sub-inspector stumbled upon Tabrez lying in a pool of blood early next morning and got him admitted to a hospital where he survived.
Advocate Salsingikar said that in the FIR, Tabrez named Altamash as suspect but during trial, he could not answer as to who attacked him. He said he was heavily drunk and there was darkness all around so he could not really say who attacked him. With no eyewitness and prosecution unable to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, the court acquitted all three accused.
