A young man in Mumbai narrowly escaped death after what he thought would be a simple birthday celebration turned into a terrifying murder attempt by his own friends.
Abul Rehman Maksood Alam Khan, 21, was looking forward to celebrating his birthday. On the night of November 24, his friend Ayaz Malik called him, inviting him for a cake-cutting ceremony. Excited and unsuspecting, Abul agreed.
Around midnight, another friend, Sharif, asked him to come to Wing 26 of the Kohinoor Phase 3 society. Believing his friends had arranged a surprise, Abul went downstairs, where five of his friends — Ayaz Malik, Ashraf Malik, Qasim Chaudhary, Huzaifa Khan, and Sharif Sheikh — were waiting with a cake.
But the moment Abul picked up the knife to cut the cake, the atmosphere changed. Instead of cheering, the group suddenly began pelting him with stones. Shocked and confused, Abul tried to understand what was happening.
Things escalated quickly. Ayaz appeared with a bottle of petrol and, along with Ashraf, started pouring it over Abul. Terrified, Abul screamed, asking, “What are you doing?” but his other friends allegedly held him and encouraged Ayaz to continue. Moments later, Ayaz flicked a lighter — and Abul was set ablaze.
In a desperate attempt to save himself, Abul ran frantically towards a nearby building. A security guard handed him a bottle of water, but it wasn’t enough to put out the flames. He finally located a tap and doused himself until the fire died down.
Huzaifa, one of the accused, later took Abul to the hospital, where he is being treated for severe burn injuries on his face, ears, chest, and arms. Abul is a second-year Bachelor of Accounting and Finance student at Guru Nanak Khalsa College.
Police have registered a case, and all five friends have been booked for attempted murder.
