Mumbai: A sessions court has acquitted Salman Shaikh, 27, and Mohammad Jahid Shaikh, 32, in the July 2018 murder case of Nasreen Shaikh, 20, at Oval Maidan, citing insufficient evidence. The court criticised the prosecution for failing to provide eyewitnesses or establish a motive, despite the incident occurring in a public space.

Two Arrested in 2018 Oval Maidan Murder Acquitted

Salman, a food delivery worker, and his friend Mohammad were arrested in July and August 2018, respectively, for the murder of Nasreen, with whom Salman was in a relationship. The prosecution alleged that the duo stabbed Nasreen multiple times at Oval Maidan on July 31, 2018, and disposed of her body and phone at the site. However, the court found the evidence lacking, leading to their acquittal.

According to the prosecution, Nasreen, a cafe worker in Colaba, left home at 8am on July 30, 2018, but did not return. Her father, Umar, contacted Salman, who had reportedly met Nasreen that day after picking her up from the café. When Nasreen remained missing, Umar attempted to file a missing person complaint on July 31, first at Mumbra police station, which redirected him to Colaba, and then to Azad Maidan police station. While walking from Colaba to Azad Maidan, Umar spotted a body in Oval Maidan’s garden, identifying it as Nasreen’s by her pink shoes. She had succumbed to multiple stab wounds, and a murder case was registered.

The prosecution claimed Salman stabbed Nasreen during an argument at Oval Maidan, motivated by her discovery of his marital status, financial disputes, and his suspicions about her. They relied on CCTV footage showing the couple together and testimonies from Nasreen’s family to establish motive. However, the court dismissed these claims, noting significant flaws.

Court Flags Delayed Statements, Doubts Motive

The court observed that statements from Nasreen’s mother and sister were recorded 15 and 18 days after the incident, respectively. “Such a delay suggests that the investigator may have summoned them later, possibly to manufacture a motive,” the court remarked. It also questioned the recovery of the alleged murder weapon, a knife, noting it was found in an open place, raising the possibility of planting.

Further, the court highlighted the absence of eyewitnesses despite Oval Maidan being a busy public space. “Perhaps there may have been eye-witnesses to the said offence, but none was found. This itself shows that no incident took place. The lack of any corroboration strongly suggests no incident occurred,” the court stated.

Palghar, Maharashtra: The Tulinj Police have registered a case against a gym trainer and his wife from Nalasopara for allegedly duping a Mumbai-based cosmetics shop owner of over ₹1.27 crore under the pretext of a profitable gym business investment.

Victim Details and Investment

According to police, the complainant, Ashokkaraman Van (28), originally from Gujarat and currently residing in Elphinstone, Mumbai, stated that in 2022 he and his friend Valjibhai Ravariya were persuaded by Abhishek Singh, a fitness trainer, and his wife Poonam Shukla to invest in a new gym project at Sitaram Complex, Santosh Bhavan, Nalasopara (East), Palghar district.

The couple allegedly promised high returns and assured them that the investment would be safe. Convinced by the assurances, Van invested ₹1,27,63,000 into the venture. However, despite repeated follow-ups, neither profits nor the principal amount were returned.

FIR Filed for Cheating and Criminal Breach of Trust

Realizing that they had been cheated, the complainant approached police, leading to the registration of an FIR under sections 316(2), 316(5), 31(8)(4), and 3(5) of the Indian Penal Code, pertaining to criminal breach of trust and cheating.

Investigation Underway

Police confirmed that no arrests have been made so far. The case is under investigation by Inspector Anand Pednekar of Tulinj Police Station.

Mumbai: The Borivali railway police have registered an FIR against a 26-year-old woman for allegedly assaulting a woman ticket checker on Wednesday after a dispute over showing a ticket. The accused has been identified as Sony Chauhan, 26. The case was registered on August 20, subsequently, the police issued a notice to the accused.

Incident on Local Train

According to the police, the incident occurred on Wednesday at 3:25 pm at the Goregaon ticket checker office at the railway station. The complainant, Geeta Pandoria, 52, works as a ticket checker with the railways and resides in Andheri East. She had boarded a slow local train from Andheri to Borivali from platform number 3 at Andheri station.

Before the train reached Goregaon station, Pandoria asked passenger Sony Chauhan to show her ticket. Chauhan was unable to produce one as she had not purchased it. The ticket checker then got down with her at Goregaon railway station’s platform number 2 and took her to the ticket checker’s office.

There, Chauhan allegedly began arguing with Pandoria, verbally abused her, threatened to harm her, physically assaulted her by beating and twisting her left hand, and obstructed her from performing her official duty. The ticket checker sustains the middle finger of the left hand.

Case Registered Under IPC

Following the complaint, the Borivali railway police registered a case against Chauhan under Sections 132 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of duty), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 352 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace), and 351 (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The accused resides in Andheri East.