Mumbai: A 35-year-old Muslim community religious leader hailing from Afghanistan was shot dead by a group of four unidentified persons in Yeola town of Maharashtra's Nashik district on Tuesday, police said. The incident took place in the evening at an open plot in the MIDC area of Yeola town, around 200km from Mumbai, the police said.
The deceased, identified as Khwaja Sayyad Zarif Chishti alias Zarif Baba (38), was popularly known as 'Sufi Baba' in Yeola, an official said. He was shot with a firearm in the forehead by the attackers, following which he died on the spot, the official said. After killing Sufi Baba, a citizen of Afghanistan, the assailants seized an SUV used by him and fled the spot, he said.
He has been living in India as a refugee for the last four years and had a large following on social media. It has emerged that the murder could have been a fall out of suspected property disputes, police said on Wednesday. One person has been detained in connection with the murder which took place on Tuesday evening, the police said.
Search is on for four suspects, said Nashik Rural Superintendent of Police (SP) Sachin Patil at a press conference here. Chishti, who arrived in India from Pakistan four years ago and had obtained refugee status, lived with a woman, also believed to be an Afghan national, in Vavi area of Sinnar tehsil in the district, Patil said.
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As per preliminary probe, he travelled to Yeola with three or four followers on Tuesday afternoon and presided over some religious rituals there. Later they left for a 'Bhoomipujan' (ground- breaking ceremony) and reached Chincholi MIDC (Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation) area, the police official said.
In the evening, when Chishti was getting into the car after performing the ritual, the driver of his vehicle allegedly shot him in the head with a pistol, killing him on the spot, the SP said. The accused -- whose names were not disclosed by police -- fled from the spot after the killing.
After he was found in a pool of blood by some locals, police were alerted. Chishti was taken to a government hospital in Yeola where doctors declared him dead before admission, said SP Patil. Police detained one suspect while three others including the driver were absconding, the official said.
On the face of it, property- and money-related disputes seemed to be the reason behind the murder, he added. Chishti had recently purchased, through his friend, 15 acres of land in Vavi area, said another police official.
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As he could not purchase properties in India being a refugee, he used to conduct purchases in the name of some of his associates, the official said. Chishti had a large following on YouTube. He also used to receive donations from his followers, officials said, adding that further probe was on. (with Agency inputs)
