Victim's brother says the accused were addicts and had also had a spat with the deceased over an SRA project at Malwani in Malad (W)
In his colony crawling with junkies and vagabonds, Ismail Memon was a trailblazer of sorts. The 40-year-old was a familiar face in Malwani, especially at the local police station, for his dynamic role against drugs peddlers and addicts in the area.
Bloody morning: Ismail Memon (inset) was murdered at Malwani’s gate number 7 yesterday
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In the process, ostensibly, he rubbed a lot of people the wrong way and paid the ultimate price for it yesterday. Five members of a family – including two minors – and two others brutally murdered Memon in front of Malwani’s gate number 7 early in the morning.
A year ago the victim had played a major part in the Anti Drugs Movement initiated by Malwani cops following which many drug abusers had started supporting him.
According to cops, Memon was chatting with his friend Reshma outside his residence when prime accused Rustum Shaikh arrived and attacked him with a chopper. Within minutes the latter’s mother Yasmin Shaikh alias Masoom had joined him and she started thrashing the victim, who fell to the ground.
Shortly after, three other members of Shaikh’s family, two of them kids, turned up and attacked Memon with sticks. Reshma, who is a key witness in the case, told police officers that apart from the Shaikhs, two unidentified accused also took part in the crime.
Abdul Rehman Memon, brother of Ismail Memon, said that the murder was premeditated. Yasmin and the others were keeping track of his brother’s every step, he said.
Abdul also claimed that since the victim was very active in the Anti Drugs Movement, peddlers in the area had hatched a plan to eliminate him as their business was suffering. Rustum Shaikh and his brothers were addicts, and in the month of Ramzan too they had allegedly attacked Memon. They had also threatened to kill him on more than one occasion, Abdul said. The accused and the victim had also had a falling-out over an SRA project in Malwani, Abdul added.
“We simply want that justice be done and all the accused get harsh punishment,” he told MiD DAY.
“Memon was lending a hand to Malwani police for the Anti Drugs Movement. We are investigating the case from all angles. For now, we have registered an FIR against all the five members of the Shaikh family, and two unknown persons, under various sections of IPC, including 302 (murder). We have not arrested anyone till now. A manhunt has been launched to nab the culprits,” said Abdul Rauf Shaikh, senior inspector from Malwani police station.u00a0
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