Mumbai: A 49-year-old man from Dongri, Salim Ali Shaikh (alias Madrasi), was sentenced to life imprisonment on Monday for murdering his 20-year-old son, Imran Shaikh, in 2018. The sessions court found Shaikh guilty of fatally stabbing his son with a pair of scissors after Imran refused to call his stepmother "ammi" (mother).
The court also expressed concern over the apathy of bystanders who failed to intervene or report the crime, despite the incident occurring in a crowded area at 9:30 pm. Judge S.D. Tawshikar criticized the lack of timely assistance from neighbors and described it as indicative of a decline in societal responsibility.
The victim’s biological mother, Parveen Shaikh, initially testified that her son had inflicted the injuries himself while under the influence of drugs, but the court dismissed this as unreliable and an attempt to protect her husband. The judge acknowledged her emotional turmoil, having lost her son while her husband faced punishment for the crime.
The court highlighted the brutality of the crime, noting that the use of scissors as a weapon was a deliberate act of cruelty. The accused, who had a history of conflicts with his son, claimed the killing was due to sudden rage, but the court rejected this argument.
Despite the prosecution seeking the death penalty, the judge ruled that the case did not qualify as "rarest of rare" and thus sentenced the accused to life imprisonment. The court also noted that the accused’s actions following the assault – fleeing the scene and failing to visit the hospital – were unnatural and further pointed to his guilt.
The case involved eleven witnesses, including two who had attempted to break up the fight but were unable to fully support the prosecution's case. Nonetheless, the judge concluded that the evidence clearly indicated that the accused had assaulted his son, leading to his death within minutes.
This case has once again drawn attention to the disturbing issue of domestic violence and the failure of witnesses to step forward in critical situations.
