In a case of road violence, a three-year-old girl and her mother died in Latur on September 29 after five men in a car allegedly chased the family for five kilometers on a bike before running them over while driving.
According to the family, Sadique Shaikh, 35, who was riding the bike, and his six-year-old son survived due to injuries. Shaikh told them that the drivers were using religious slurs and said “Muslims need to be taught a lesson” before he flagged them down. Five suspects have now been booked for murder by the Latur police after the intervention of activists and lawyers.
Speaking to the Indian Express, Latur SP Somay Mundhe said, “We have charged these five men with murder. At this time, it seems to be a case of street violence.”
The incident happened on September 29 evening, when Shaikh, his wife Iqra (24), their six-year-old son Ahad, and three-year-old daughter Nadia, were returning after visiting their sister in Ausa, 20 kilometers away. Latur.
According to the FIR lodged with the Latur police, around 8 pm, a car swerved in front of their motorcycle on the outskirts of Ausa. Shaikh confronted the passengers of the car who he believed were drunk. After a brief argument, he continued to ride. However, a car following them hit them near Budhada village, he said.
The accident resulted in the death of Iqra and Nadia, while Shaikh and Ahad were shifted to a hospital in Latur. At first, the family thought it was just an accident. However, when he woke up the next day, Shaikh told his elder brother that they were targeted for their religion, according to the crime.
“He mentioned the dispute with the passengers of the car. He said that because his wife was wearing a burqa, they hurled insults insisting that Muslims need to be educated. When he said that he left the place due to his wife’s insistence, the men followed them for a distance of five kilometers and beat the bike hard,” said the family’s lawyer, Altaf Qazi.
The FIR, however, is silent on the religious allegations. The five accused – Digambhar Pandole, Krishna Wagh, Basvaraj Dhotre, Manoj Mane and Mudame – were caught by local residents after the incident. A video of one of the suspects in the hospital shows him admitting that they ran over the family on purpose.
“We received a report about this man, and after he left, our driver, Digambar Pandole, followed him and knocked him down on purpose,” he said in the video.
The family and their lawyers suspect that initially the police were reluctant to open serious charges and were trying to explain the incident as an ordinary accident. “The police were reluctant to open a case, especially since there was a meeting of the chief minister in Udgir that day. Although the family complained that they were targeted because of their faith, the police tried to undermine it,” said Kazi.
It was after persistent advocacy by Kazi and community activists that the FIR was finally registered on October 1, two days after the incident. “The police first considered the case of involuntary manslaughter, based on the video evidence that showed what they intended. After pleading for a long time, they agreed that they will charge the men with murder,” Kazi added.
The five suspects were kept in police custody for three days. When asked if they are investigating this incident as a criminal act, Latur SP Somay Mundhe stated that the current investigation reveals that it was a case of road rage. “These five men have been charged with murder. Right now, it looks like there is chaos on the road,” he said.
The Shaikh family is still shocked by this tragic incident following the family’s evacuation. “Both Sadique and Ahad are in great pain and we do not understand that this tragedy happened just because our bhabhi was wearing a burqa,” said Ali Shaikh, Sadique’s brother.