25-YEAR-OLD KILLED AFTER BEING MISTAKEN FOR BIKE THIEF

MUMBAI: A 25-year-old man was killed by an individual who mistook him for a motorcycle thief. The incident, according to the police, took place in the early hours of Thursday in Malwani i n Malad West. The accused, Imran Ansari, 26, was arrested under the suspicion that he mistook the victim for a bike thief, as the victim’s twowheeler bore a resemblance to his own.

According to the Malwani police, the victim, Sachin Dashrath Jaiswal, a driver, was mistaken for a two-wheeler thief. The Malwani police reported that the victim, allegedly in an inebriated state, was attempting to unlock a two-wheeler, mistaken for someone else’s, leading the accused to perceive him as a robber.

Akash Gaikwad, 32, Jaiswal’s friend told the police that around 10:30pm he received a call from Jaiswal to meet him for a drink l ater at night. Around 1:30am on Thursday, Jaiswal met Gaikwad after which he left to purchase alcohol from the nearby restaurant. When Jaiswal failed to return till 3am, Gaikwad got worried and left to look for Jaiswal. Near Gate Number 6 in Malwani he saw a crowd gathered at a spot. Gaikwad approached the crowd to see Jaiswal lying unconscious on the ground. One of the passersby told Gaikwad that he had seen the victim being beaten up, claiming that he was a thief. Gaikwad then rushed Jaiswal to the Shatabdi hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.

Ansari, a resident of Malad, was arrested on the assumpt i o n t h a t t h e v i c t i m wa s attempting to rob his bike, which resembled the victim’s two-wheeler. During the altercation, the victim fell and sustained head injuries after being assaulted by other unidentified individuals.

The accused has been charged with murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. The police are currently awaiting the post-mortem report to determine whether the victim was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident.