Mumbai: A day after a 19-year-old woman was allegedly shot dead in Govandi by a woman who was living with her boyfriend, police on Wednesday arrested the suspect’s brother for handing her a pistol and instructing her to open fire. His friend has also been nabbed for allegedly abetting the crime.Shivaji Nagar police said the victim, Shifa Nabi Shaikh, went to confront her boyfriend, Nadeem alias Rizwan Shaikh (28), over his relationship with Tabassum Shaikh (26) at their home in Baiganwadi, Govandi, on Tuesday. A heated argument broke out. Tabassum’s brother, Sajid Shaikh (23), allegedly handed her a countrymade firearm and asked her to shoot Shifa. Tabassum allegedly fired at Shifa from point-blank range. The bullet pierced her cheek and got lodged in the skull. Shifa’s father, Nabi Shaikh, a civil contractor, told police that while he was leaving for work around 10am, Shifa said she would be stepping out to have breakfast in a while. Within an hour, Nabi’s wife, Yasmin, called him up and asked him to rush home, saying she had been told that Shifa had been shot at. After he arrived home, he learnt that Shifa had been taken to the hospital. By the time the couple reached the hospital, doctors had declared Shifa dead. The probe revealed that Shifa and Tabassum had a tiff three months ago over their relationships with Nadeem. An official said Tabassum and Sajid threatened Shifa. “Owing to the tension, Shifa’s family sent her away to their hometown in Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh. But a little later, Shifa called up her father to say she couldn’t withstand the winter there and was returning to Mumbai. She got back on Jan 12 and stayed put at her home to avoid fights with Tabassum.” Charges of murder and criminal conspiracy under BNS and as well as provisions of Arms Act have been invoked against Nadeem, Tabassum, Sajid Shaikh and his friend, Kalam Choudhary (19). All four were produced in a Kurla court, which remanded them in police custody till Feb 16. Police found bloodstains, a human tooth, an empty magazine and a fired cartridge, among other materials, at the crime scene.
