JEDDAH, 31 October 2004 — A widely respected Muslim lawyer in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad city was shot dead yesterday by two unidentified assailants.
According to reports reaching here, Akbar Patel was woken up by the two assailants and asked about the files of a certain court case. As he got busy looking for the files, one of the two assailants pumped two bullets into him. Patel died on the spot.
Patel’s funeral prayer was held after Isha yesterday. It was attended by a large section of the city’s Muslim and Hindu population.
“His death has created a sense of insecurity and the city is tense,” said Shoeb Khusro, editor of an Urdu daily published in Aurangabad. Akbar Patel had always advocated the cause of Muslims in courts. Expatriates from Aurangabad expressed shock over his murder.
