NRI
couple was brutally assaulted in vacating their ancestral
farm
Mumbai, Feb 4, 2006
CNN-IBN TV Report
In a shocking incident an American couple was brutally
assaulted in suburban Mumbai last month. The attack
is believed to be the result of a property dispute.
The American couple's Indian vacation turned into
a nightmare when they visited their ancestral farm
in a north Mumbai suburb. Shegufa Haubrich and her
husband, Robert Dean Ervin claim they were brutally
assaulted by Shagufa's cousins when they refused to
vacate the disputed property.
"Basically they sexually molested and thrown
me in a car and my husband was beaten when he came
to save me. And for no reason my brother was dragged
and made naked and pushed in the car," said Shegufa
Haubrich.
They didn't even spare Shagufa's septuagenarian parents.
Trouble started on January 24, when the couple, accompanied
by Shegufa's parents and brother Tehmton visited Ideal
Farm in Dahisar. Ownership of the said farm is disputed,
with both Tehmton and his cousin Boman laying claim
to it. The original owner Rustom Irani was Tehmton
and Boman's adoptive father.
The incident took place at about 1000 hrs IST in
the morning when Boman's brother Percy Chowdhry and
his friend Boman Behram Irani entered the room that
the family were in and demanded that Tehmton vacate
the premises. When Tehmton refused to budge, they
started harassing them and called the police.
"The police was brought in the afternoon, some
around 11, we saw many police but only two or three
police walked inside the firm and had a word with
Percy and left," she added.
Later in the evening, Percy and Boman barged in yet
again and managed to confiscate all cell phones. This
left Shagufa traumatized.
Shegufa said: “All of a sudden there were like
25 to 30 people stormed into the room. Six men pinned
me down and molested me. When my husband tried to
stop them they hit him on the head with an iron rod.
They then dragged the three of us out of the house
and forced us into a car."
Robert then drove them to the nearest police station
with his head bleeding. But they claim the police
was far from helpful.
"The police told us, in no uncertain terms,
that they had also filed a complaint against us for
trespassing and if we filed a complaint, they would
have to arrest us, " said Shegufa husband Robert
Dean Ervin.
Dejected Shagufa's family filed a private complaint
with the local magistrate who directed a Senior Police
Inspector to investigate the matter.
"We have received instructions from the court
to investigate the matter and we have started doing
the same now," said DCP Zone XII Shivaji Bodhke.
Though Shagufa's mother Threaty, Robert, and their
driver were treated for their injuries at Bhagwati
Hospital, the family is still understandably shaken.
