Amitabh Bachchan’s fan who came from UP to see him stabbed at Juhu, two arrested

Two rowdies, who stabbed a cloth merchant (35) from Uttar Pradesh (UP) and robbed his mobile phone and cash, were arrested by Mumbai Police on Saturday.

Mumbai: Two rowdies, who stabbed a cloth merchant (35) from Uttar Pradesh (UP) and robbed his mobile phone and cash, were arrested by Mumbai Police on Saturday.
The cloth merchant, identified as Aquil Shaikh, had come to Mumbai in end-June flouting prevailing lockdown restrictions, which were imposed since end-March in a bid to contain the spread of the raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak, to catch a glimpse of actor Amitabh Bachchan.
He was staying on a footpath near the actor’s bungalow Jalsa in Juhu.
On July 4, the two accused, identified as Sanjay Gopi Kharwa alias Rajendra alias Khidki (25), a resident of Bhayander, and Suresh Kanji Kharwa (20), a resident of Matunga labour camp, spotted Shaikh sleeping on the footpath and targeted him.
“Initially, the accused asked Shaikh to drink liqour, which he refused. Then, they took him to an isolated location and again insisted that he drinks liqour. An altercation followed between Shaikh and the two accused, and they started beating him. One of the accused then took out a knife and stabbed him in his hand, chest and stomach,” said Pandharinath Wavhal, a senior inspector at Juhu police station. The accused also robbed his mobile phone and cash and fled from the spot, he added.
Locals spotted an injured Shaikh and rushed him to Cooper Hospital, where he is undergoing treatment.
Police have registered a first information report (FIR) based on Shaikh’s statement under Sections 397 (robbery, or dacoity, with an attempt to cause death or grievous hurt), Section 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), Section 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and Section 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The suspects were identified after Juhu Police station authorities scanned the closed-circuit TV (CCTV) footage of the area.
Harish Biradar, sub-inspector, Juhu Police station, and the investigating officer (IO) of the case, said, “Sanjay had a criminal past, as eight cases of robbery are registered against him. We, through our informants, learnt that they would be coming to Juhu. The accused were arrested from Pushpa Park in Juhu on Saturday. Now, we are on the lookout for an accomplice of the accused.”