Mumbai: A 40-year-old man who had been arrested after going on a knifing spree at Malwani last month, which left a teenager dead and another individual critically injured, had similarly attacked another minor a day before the incident, police investigations have revealed.Rizwaan Qureshi, the accused, was booked on murder charges soon after the knifing spree on Sept 18 that left an entire lane soaked in blood.Investigations revealed that late on Sept 17, Qureshi had ventured to a ground-plus-one storeyed structure at New Collector’s Compound in Malwani where a tailor, Saiful Maula, lived and ran his tailoring unit. Around midnight, Maula’s 14-year-old son, Zeeshan, was on his way to bed when he noticed Qureshi.“Zeeshan studies in class VII and lives in West Bengal with his sister and mother. He and his family had come to Malwani to stay with his father during their school vacations,” said a police officer.When Qureshi asked Zeeshan for water, the youngster got a bottle for him. Qureshi then started asking him questions about the tailoring unit and how many people were employed in it. Thereafter, he wouldn’t return the water bottle and started hurling expletives at Zeeshan who demanded the bottle back.Qureshi then started to hit the minor and pulled out a knife tucked into the back of his trousers. He slashed Zeeshan’s throat. The youngster fought back and tried to grab the knife, slashing his fingers badly. He then screamed for help and ran, alerting his father. As Qureshi fled, Zeeshan’s father rushed him to the hospital. He received 15 sutures on his neck. The family was disturbed and did not inform the police immediately.The next day, Qureshi approached another teen, Bunty Khan (14) at his father’s shop, demanding water and some money. Khan offered him water but refused to part with money. Qureshi slashed the teen on his neck with a knife. Further, he slashed a pedestrian, Chetan Patel, in the same lane, without any provocation. As he was about to enter another house and target one more person, passersby caught hold of him and thrashed him. Khan succumbed to his injuries, while Patel was treated and is stable.Police said Qureshi is a native of UP and has moved from Mumbai to Pune, later to Hyderabad, before returning to Mumbai. He does odd jobs for a living. During police questioning, he claimed to have “bumped off his family members” but investigators have not been able to verify his claims.
