Pune Crime Files: Justice still elusive for Mohsin Shaikh’s family, 9 years after he became victim of communal clashes

Tensions over social media posts caused clashes, murder

Severe communal tension prevailed in Pune city and adjoining areas and even in other parts of Maharashtra between May 31 and June 2, 2014, following the circulation of objectionable pictures of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray on social media.

Hindu groups, including Shiv Sena, protested to condemn the derogatory social media messages. After an agitation in Kasba Peth, a youth named Nikhil Tikone (then aged 20) was attacked by a mob on the night of May 31, 2014.

Tikone suffered severe injuries, but unknown persons circulated his photograph on social media, saying he was ‘Nihal Khan’, who posted derogatory pictures of Shivaji Maharaj and Thackeray on Facebook. Tikone’s friends then circulated another video saying he was Hindu and had nothing to do with objectionable posts.

Subsequently, communal clashes between Hindus and Muslims were reported from Wagholi, Bhosari, Katraj, Pimpri-Chinchwad and other areas of Pune, and several people were injured. In the early hours of June 1, 2014, a mob pelted stones on a private bus near Katraj. A bus passenger, Vasant Rupnar (then aged 40 years), who was travelling from Andheri to Solapur, was hit with a stone; he slipped into coma and got paralysed.

The next day, communal violence was reported in Hadapsar. While the police were trying to tackle the situation, on the night of June 2, a group attacked Mohsin Sadiq Shaikh while he was going home with his friend Riyaz Ahmed Mubarak Shendure after offering prayers at a mosque in Hadapsar. After a few hours, Mohsin died while undergoing treatment at a hospital. His brother Mobin Shaikh then filed a complaint at the Hadapsar police station, and a First Information Report (FIR) was filed.

As per Mobin’s complaint, “The assailants intercepted Mohsin and Riyaz at Satav Plot in Unnati Nagar around 9.15 pm. As Mohsin had a beard and a skull cap and was wearing a light green Pathani shirt, they attacked him with hockey sticks and banged a cement block on his head.”

Allegations were made that those who murdered Mohsin were members of the HRS. The police arrested 21 HRS activists, including the leader Dhananjay Desai, a resident of Parmar Bungalow in Paud. Also, a minor boy was booked for his alleged involvement in the crime.

It was alleged that after Mohsin, the HRS activists had also attacked two more men — Amin Harun Shaikh and Ejaz Yakub Bagwan. The police recorded their statements and also attached them to the chargesheet filed in court against the accused persons.

In the chargesheet, the police attached the records of the previous offences against Desai and the details of his alleged hate speeches against Muslims during various public functions.

Prosecution failed to prove the guilt of accused: Court

While the trial in this case was on, one of the 21 accused arrested for Mohsin’s murder died. Additional Sessions Judge S B Salunkhe acquitted the remaining 20 accused. In his order, Salunkhe stated, “I come to the conclusion that the prosecution has failed to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt. The accused are entitled for benefit of doubt and they must be acquitted.”

The court observed that the prosecution could not produce any evidence that Desai delivered a speech up to one month before the murder incident, which instigated others.

The court found that eyewitnesses of the incident failed to identify the accused. Complainant Mobin was not an eyewitness to the murder incident, stated the judgement.

The case also saw controversy over the appointment of a special public prosecutor (SPP). Following a request made by Mohsin’s family to the then chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, senior lawyer Ujjwal Nikam was appointed as the SPP in the murder case.

But, a Pune-based activist, Anjum Inamdar of the Rashtrapremi Kruti Samiti, wrote to the chief minister and the law and judiciary department on June 12, 2014, opposing Nikam’s appointment as the SPP, claiming that the lawyer was close to right-wing extremist groups.

Hussain Dalwai, then Congress MP in Rajya Sabha, also opposed Nikam’s appointment in this case in his letter to Chavan dated July 20, 2014. Meanwhile, Nikam also requested to cancel his appointment as the SPP in this case and the government approved it in May 2017.

On June 16, 2017, Mohsin’s father, Mohammed Sadiq, wrote to the then chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, and the law and judiciary department, seeking the appointment of senior lawyer Rohini Salian as the SPP. However, senior lawyer Ujjwala Pawar and later N D Patil worked as the prosecution lawyers in this case.

“After the accused persons were acquitted, we held meetings with top police officials and persons from the government. But the prosecution has not filed an appeal in the high court against the acquittal. This delay is unfortunate,” said activist Azar Tamboli.

Police sources said the prosecution had initiated steps to challenge the acquittal of the accused in the murder case.