The Maharashtra Police on Sunday arrested the main accused in the murder of Kalyan resident Haji Abdul Sheikh (33),who was allegedly killed after he took on his neighbour for trying to rape a girl. The main accused,who is 17 years old,was picked up from Kalyan on Sunday morning and charged with murder. A separate case of molestation was later registered against him,the police said. The police have arrested five others Shamsuddin Sheikh,Jameer Kadar Shaikh,Sameer Sayyed,Subhash Malbari and Sumit Prajapati. Sheikh was allegedly attacked on Friday night by the six accused after he protested and stopped the 17-year-old boys attempt to rape a minor two days earlier. The six had allegedly waited for Sheikh as he returned home from work. Sheikh,a security guard,had reportedly slapped the 17-year-old accused when he allegedly tried to rape the minor from the same building. The accused was brought to the police station and placed under arrest. He was charged with murder and criminal conspiracy, said an officer with the Mahatma Phule Chowk police station. On Sunday afternoon,the 11-year-old girl whom the accused allegedly tried to rape also reached the police station along with her father. While they had been reluctant to report the sexual outrage so far,Sheikhs killing changed their mind. They expressed willingness to cooperate with police,and the girl recorded a statement saying that the accused touched her inappropriately. The police,however,withheld comment as to whether Sheikh was killed because he had taken the accused to task for molestation. We have registered a separate complaint of molestation under section 354 of the IPC. It would be too early to comment on whether there is a link between these cases, Inspector Manoj Nerlekar said. Sheikh used to work in a mall and as a gym instructor in Kalyan. He is survived by his wife and two children.
