Ghulam Sheikh (30) brutally murdered a Hindu lady in Pune, Maharashtra, and is now absconding. Earlier, Sunita Suryawanshi (39) and her husband Raghunath rented out a portion of their home near the Pune international airport at Lohegaon to Sheikh, a migrant from Bihar. It is not known if Sheikh had shared his true identity with them while becoming a tenant.
Sheikh and Sunita entered into a relationship, and later he went back to his native place during the lockdown. According to the FIR lodged by Sunita’s family, the accused insisted that she visit his family in Bihar and a year ago she went to Sheikh’s village to meet his family. But after her family found out about the extra-marital affair and confronted her, Sunita repented and decided to break of all ties with Sheikh.
After Sheikh returned to Pune, they asked him to vacate the house and Sunita broke all ties with him. Sheikh then rented another place nearby in Sant Nagar area of Lohegaon, and started stalking the victim.
On Sunday afternoon, he returned to Sunita’s house when she was alone at home. He demanded sexual favors but the lady denied refused and asked him to leave. Sheikh started arguing and when the lady refused his advances, he assaulted her. The victim managed to escape and ran into a washroom and locked it from the inside.
Sheikh was not ready to leave and he broke open the door of the restroom. Once inside, he showed no mercy and overpowered the victim before strangulating her to death. He then locked the front door and fled.
When Raghunath and their two sons returned home, they saw that the door was locked. They thought that Sunita had gone out and they tried to contact her over the phone but there was no answer. When she did not return even at 11.30 in the night, they broke open the door and entered the house. The unfortunate family discovered her dead body in the washroom.
A complaint was registered at Vimantal police station and police reached the spot. Speaking about the incident, police inspector Bharat Jadhav said that his teams were trying to trace the murderer and that some were on their way to Sheikh’s native village. Sheikh has been charged with assault, causing damages, and murder. Jadhav assured that the search is on and added that the accused will be arrested soon.
Muslims often allege ‘Islamophobia’ claiming they are denied accommodation in cities, but such incidents and others like them (exhibit A, exhibit B) point at the need for introspection by the community. Moreover, this is yet another incident which should act as a red light to Hindu women contemplating such relations. The moral decay and de-Hinduization of Hindu families, cutting across all social strata, is another aspect of this tragic episode that needs immediate attention of Hindu religious and social organizations.
