Amit Patel, a farsan trader from Dadar, had shot at Mohammed Ali Umar Shaikh, 29, on the Bandra Reclamation promenade (now, the approach road to the Bandra-Worli Sea Link) for teasing his wife. It happened on March 14, 2004. Shaikh succumbed to his injury.
The case went to trial. Patel, who was 29 at the time of the incident, argued that he was trying to protect his wife, and had to shoot Shaikh in self defence. More than five and a half years later, on September 23 this year, additional sessions judge SC Chandak rejected his argument and convicted him under section 304 II (causing death without any intention to kill, but having knowledge that the act could kill a person) of the IPC.
Patel was sentenced to five years’ rigorous imprisonment, but managed to get bail from the Bombay high court last month.
Three of Shaikh’s friends, Mohammed Shakir Zariwala, Akbar Sayyed (both witnesses) and Rahim Khan (name changed because he was juvenile in 2004), were found guilty of molestation. They were sentenced to one year in prison.
On March 14, 2004, Patel had gone to the promenade for an evening stroll with his wife and a friend’s wife. Shaikh and his friends came there,completely drunk. They started harassing the couples on the promenade. Witnesses told the court that Shaikh was out of control, and had removed his shirt. His friends tried hard to contain him, but to no avail.
Shaikh came near Patel’s wife and his friend’s wife and started abusing them. Patel retaliated, and when Shaikh came closer threatening to attack him, he took out his gun. Shaikh put his hand in his hip pocket and pretended to draw his weapon. “Now see what I will do,” he told Patel.
Patel fired a round. The bullet went into Shaikh’s stomach. He succumbed to his injury the next day, and his mother, Shaheen filed a complaint. Patel filed a counter-complaint against Shaikh and his friends for molesting his wife and his friend’s wife. During trial he said that Shaikh had threatened to kill him.
Patel’s lawyer, Aabad Ponda, argued that his client shot Shaikh in self defence. Additional public prosecutor Usha Jadhav said that Patel had fired the deceased on his vital part. The court said that Patel could have overpowered Shaikh as he had a gun in his hand. He also had the option of firing in the air, or target some less vital part of his body. The judge concluded that Patel had exceeded his right of self defence.
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