In a chilling case of violence triggered by a personal dispute, the Dindoshi Sessions Court in Mumbai sentenced 31-year-old Mohammad Firoz Khan to life imprisonment for murdering his roommate with a pair of scissors in April 2019. The court found Khan guilty of fatally stabbing Tanveer Mohammad Shaikh after an argument inside their shared living space at a tyre repair workshop.
According to the prosecution, Khan, who often stayed at the Teghi Tyre Services workshop owned by Gulam Rasul Ansari, was known for consuming drugs and frequently returning in an intoxicated state. On April 10, 2019, an altercation broke out when Khan returned late and Shaikh objected to his entry, prompting a police intervention that briefly resolved the matter.
However, the situation escalated the next morning around 6:30 am, when Khan, still enraged, returned to the workshop, picked up a pair of scissors, and viciously attacked Shaikh while he was asleep. The assault resulted in grave injuries to Shaikh’s trachea, heart, and lung, causing his death before he could receive medical attention.
The court stated that the evidence clearly established that Shaikh was unarmed and asleep at the time of the attack. “The injuries inflicted were to vital organs, indicating a clear intent to kill,” the court observed. “No provocation was offered by the deceased. The assault was deliberate and without justification.”
Calling it a cold-blooded act, the court held that the brutality and targeted nature of the attack warranted the maximum punishment under the law, leading to Khan’s life sentence.
