The family, friends and locals on Sunday blocked a road in suburban Mumbai demanding immediate arrest of the accused in Malwani parking murder case.

An illegal parking mafia dispute in Malwani had last month claimed the life of a young cab driver, who was brutally attacked and stabbed to death.

The deceased, identified as Sahil Shahid Gujjar, 27, a resident of Ganesh Nagar, Kandivli West, supported his family by driving a rented Ola cab.

He was assaulted near Lagoon Road, Plot No. 50, Malwani — an area notorious for illegal parking operations.

The family alleged that even after nearly a month, the arrest of two accused whose names were added in the FIR as the investigations proceeded by the police but they were not yet made by the police.

On Sunday afternoon, the locals joined the family in a protest march demanding the arrest of two more people.

The protest caused major traffic congestion. Many vehicles were seen stuck, and people had a hard time reaching their destinations.

The crowd also raised slogans, asking the police to take action.

According to police sources, the incident began when the deceased returned after finishing his shift and came to park his car in the parking area in front of the office. The car had no gas, which led to an argument. Accused Owais Sheikh, who, apart from managing parking, also drove an Ola cab at night, clashed with the victim over the issue. The quarrel soon escalated into a physical fight.

According to the FIR filed by his younger brother, Adil Shahid Gujjar, 19, the incident began around 7 pm on August 15 when Adil received a call from a friend about Sahil being involved in a fight. Soon after, another acquaintance informed him that Sahil had clashed with Farooq Sheikh and Owais Sheikh, who managed the parking lot, and had suffered a nose injury. Reaching the spot at about 8 pm, Adil saw Sahil bleeding from his nose. Sahil told him that Farooq and Owais had argued with him over parking, punched him, and warned him not to casually refer to their associates but to address them respectfully as “Pandey-bhai” and “Sajid-bhai.”

As Adil attempted to take Sahil to a hospital, the situation escalated. Farooq and Owais allegedly returned on a Suzuki Bergman scooter marked with the number “313” in red, accompanied by four to five unidentified men armed with iron rods. Opening the scooter’s trunk, they pulled out weapons. Farooq held an iron rod, while Owais wielded a chopper. Without provocation, Owais allegedly stabbed Sahil in the stomach.

When Adil tried to intervene, Farooq swung the rod at him, but he dodged. Other men restrained him and beat him with fists and rods. No bystander came forward. Sahil collapsed, bleeding heavily, his intestines protruding from the stab wound, as the assailants fled with their weapons. The police said that Owais admitted himself to a hospital and told the cops that he had been assaulted by the deceased.

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