Biker shot by masked cop dies, family asks why open fire aft ..

Azim Sayyed, one of the victims shot by a debt-ridden police during an alleged robbery attempt near Padgha in Bhiwandi, has died at Sion Hospital. The other victim, Firoz Shaikh, is recovering. The cousins were shot by a masked man on a motorcycle after they revealed their names. The police have arrested the assailant, Suraj Dhokare, who planned to rob them. However, the families of the victims suspect that the police are hiding something, as Dhokare immediately shot at them instead of just threatening them.

THANE: Four days after being shot by a debt-ridden policeman while he allegedly attempted to rob them near Padgha in Bhiwandi, one of the two victims, Azim Sayyed (30), died at Sion Hospital late on Tuesday. The other victim, Firoz Shaikh (27) is out of danger and under treatment.

Sayyed is survived by his parents, two brothers, a wife, a three-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son.

On October 13, cousins Sayyed and Shaikh from Virar were going to Malegaon on a bike when a masked man on a motorcycle asked thgem for the route to Padgha. Since the cousins were headed in that direction, they asked him to follow them, states the FIR quoting Sayyed that was filed on Ocotober 14. The stranger trailed them for 12km. Just as they passed by an isolated stretch near maide village he asked them to pull over. When the cousins stopped, the man allegedly asked them their names. But as soon as they revealed their nmes he allegedly began firing at them. O the six bullets spent, two hit Sayyed in the stomach and leg, and one hit Shaikh in the neck. The atacker then fled the spot.

Passersby alerted police who rushed the two cousins to nearby hospital, from where they were later shifted to Sion Hospital.

Police formed multiple teams to track down the assailant, Suraj Dhoakare (37), an armourer in the quick response team of Mumbai police, and arrested him on October 15. Police said Dhokare had planned to rob the cousins. They said he had taken loans of around Rs 40 lakh and under pressure to pay them off, he decided to rob motorists on the highway. Police said they are probing if Dhokare had committed robberies in Ambadi and Bhiwandi during his visits there.

But the cousins’ families raised doubts over the theory that it was a robbery bid that wnet wrong. “We have a strong suspicion that police are hiding someting, ” said Sayyed’s elder brother Wasim. “If Dhokare had intended to rob them, then why did he immeidately shoot at them after hearing their names instead of just threatening them with his gun? H e didn’t even take cash from them after the attack.” Wasim said both cousins had expensive phones on them, which were left intact.

TOI reached out to deputy SP Prashant Dhole and senior inspector Sanjay Sable multiple times but they were unavailable for comment on the family’s allegations.

Source: Times of India (TOI)