Mumbai, Sep 14 (Mid-day): When the Sheikhs stepped out for some fresh air around 9.30 pm on Tuesday as the perfect way to cap the day’s frenetic festivities, they hadn’t the slightest inkling of the horror that lay ahead. Within minutes, some 10 allegedly drunken men ganged up on the three youths and attacked them for sitting at a taxi stand near their house in Buntar Bhavan, Kurla East. One of the victims, Naeem Sheikh (25), was stabbed in the stomach with the same knife that was used to sacrifice a goat earlier in the day, claim family members.

Naeem was rushed to the Sion Hospital, where a surgery was performed for the deep gash he sustained. The knife barely missed the large intestine. Naeem was declared out of danger early today.

His cousin, Shajda Sheikh, who arrived from Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, for Eid, said Naeem and two cousins went out to get some fresh air and gathered at a taxi stand nearby when the men, reeking of alcohol, asked them to hoof it. "When they refused, the men rushed home, got big knives and stabbed Naeem. Why did God ask for qurbani twice?"

One of the victims, Rehan Sheikh, said the youths pleaded with the attackers to let them go. "We called them chacha and asked them to stop, but they didn’t listen."

Another cousin, who, too, was attacked, had to get eight stitches on the head.

The alleged attackers have been arrested by the Chunabatti police station. The Sheikh family claimed that the attackers live close to the taxi stand. Sanjay Jhadav, Chunabhatti police inspector, said, “An FIR has been filed. The next procedure will be decided in court. I cannot comment further."

Wedding plans

Right before the allegedly unprovoked attack, the cousins were immersed in discussing Naeem's upcoming wedding. "He had just got engaged. So, we were planning activities for the rest of the year," said Rehan. He claimed that the one of the attackers cut himself on the hand right before the police arrived. "People can do such crazy things under the influence of alcohol."

Hardly visits Kurla

Naeem, a resident of Vashi who sell fruits, seldom visits his cousin’s family in Kurla, and had arrived only for the qurbani. "He is a sensitive and kind boy, and never raises his hand on anybody. It’s shameful that people from the same community are fighting amongst themselves. One of the attackers was an elderly man," alleged Zeenat Khan, Naeem's sister-in-law.