A mob of around 20 Muslims attacked a petrol pump in Malad, Mumbai and beat up 7 staffers leaving them with fractures and other serious injuries, reports Times of India.
Based on CCTV footage, police has arrested five persons – Zahid Shaikh, 25, Javed Sayyad, 39, Firoz Sayyad, 20, Siraj Chaudhary, 24, and Abdul Aahad Chaudhary, 21. The accused were produced before the Borivli magistrate’s court on Friday and have been remanded in police custody till June 10. Police said they have recovered the motorcycle and lathis used in the attack.
As per the TOI report –
“The incident was reported at Sachdeva HP petrol pump on SV Road, Malad. On June 3, two bike-borne men arrived at the pump and moved ahead from the wrong side. A pump staffer, Ashish Yadav, asked them to get in queue and wait for their turn. This sparked an argument and the pillion rider slapped Ashish. At this point, two older staffers, Ravishankar Pandey and Shubham Singh, came forward to broker peace. The pillion rider kicked Singh.
According to the FIR, the two started leaving the premises, even as the staffers got into a scuffle with them. The pillion rider then made a phone call and said aloud, “There has been an altercation at the petrol pump and we have been attacked. You all need to come soon and teach these people (staffers) a lesson.”
Less than an hour later, a mob armed with lathis arrived at the pump. They did not say a word to anyone and went about bashing up the staff. Around a dozen men entered a glass cabin and smashed its door and tables inside. They also smashed two POS (point of sale) swiping machines and a fuel reading meter. Among the staff, Shrikant Vishwakarma suffered arm and leg fractures. Ashish, Singh and their colleagues, Kamal Mishra, Kaushal Yadav, Vikas Yadav and Dheeraj Sharma, suffered injuries to the head, back, arm, leg and face. Some of the accused were masked.
The Malad police were informed. Based on information provided by witnesses, the police registered a case of assault and rioting, among other charges. Later, the petrol pump management went through their cash counter and found that Rs 35,000 had been looted. The police then added the charge of dacoity.”
OpIndia contacted Malad Police and corroborated the TOI report. Police told them the initial spat broke out as the two bike-borne men were getting late to offer their namaz and hence jumped the queue.
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