Taha Mahran Bronx landlord stabs tenant Zakir Khan to death after being nine months late on the rent despite having won a recent eviction notice.
Zakir Khan a 44 year old Bronx real estate broker has died after being stabbed to death at the hands of his Bronx landlord, Taha Mahran.
The man’s death came after Mahran, 51, repeatedly stabbed the delinquent tenant outside his apartment Wednesday night, just days after his last court appearance in an ongoing eviction case.
At the time of the stabbing, cops found Zakir A. Khan, a married father of three, bleeding from several stab wounds to his chest outside of his home on Logan Ave by Barkley Ave in Throggs Neck circa 6.30 pm.
Despite being rushed to nearby Jacobi Hospital, the man died.
Notice of the fatal stabbing came after the victim’s landlord walked into the 45th Precinct station house, two blocks away, covered in blood, where investigators recovered a knife reported the nydailynews.
Mahran was charged with murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon.
A report via the nypost told of Khan renting the $1,500-a-month apartment at 1001 Logan Ave. in hopes of buying it, but had fallen nine months behind on his rent.
Court records show that Mahran took Khan to court in November.
A source familiar with the eviction drama told of Mahran having ‘gone nuts’ after trying to have Khan thrown out.
“[The landlord] was very stressed about not getting any rent and I guess he lost it. He felt like the tenant was playing games with him,’ said neighbor Acindina Cumel, calling Mahran, a ‘decent man.’
Khan, who has deep ties to the Bronx Bangladeshi community, befriended Mahran and offered to help him rent the Logan Ave. apartment, but soon moved in himself with his family, without a lease, the source said.
At the time, the man promised Mahran that he would buy the property.
Open House Reminder! , 12/10/2016 12:00:00 PM, Full Details https://t.co/VUoalHjbAN pic.twitter.com/eHevss21Ge
— Zakir Khan (@ZakirAKhan) December 9, 2016
The property is still listed on the web site for Khan’s firm, Parchester Real Estate. Mahran bought the home in 2003.
Mahran was paying the utility bills, and whenever he called the police, Khan would call with complaints of his own, the source said. He spread garbage in front of the houses, and parked in front of the driveway to block the landlord in.
‘He was basically gaming the system and the courts,’ the source said. ‘This guy was basically the tenant from hell.’
A man identifying himself as a Khan family friend said the attacker laid in wait outside the two-story home.
‘He pulled up in his car and waited. He stabbed him in the chest, again and again. He stabbed him as he came out of the house,’ the friend said. ‘This is a country of rules and laws. You respect life. How do you do this?’
Told Lillian Marrero, a friend of the Bronx landlord: ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe it. He was nice and quiet,’
‘I watched his two daughters and his son grow up … He was a good landlord. He was a taxi driver at one time. He did all the renovation himself. I can’t believe it.’
According to a 2012 report, Khan said he moved to America from a Bangladeshi rural province in 1993, where he flipped burgers at the Burger King on the Parkchester Oval to make ends meet. He founded his real estate company in 2002.
‘It doesn’t matter what you do, cooking French fries or selling real estate, if you work hard and treat people well, you can be successful,’ he said at the time according to the nydailynews.
Despite his popularity in the Bangladeshi community, Khan was no stranger to legal problems, having appeared in court just days earlier for charges brought against him in February of last year that included aggravated harassment and stalking.
He was due to reappear in criminal court March 25th.
According to State Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda (D-Bronx), Khan was politically active, but fell on tough times financially and had to close his real estate office.
Told the lawmaker: ‘From what I heard, he had some financial problems, but Mr. Khan worked to empower the Bangladeshi community, and a lot of people in the community knew him well,’
‘He continued to work in the community as a real estate broker, but had become less politically active than he had prior in 2015.’
According to Sepulveda, Mahran had come for help dealing with Khan, ‘but I instructed him that I knew Mr. Khan and that I couldn’t get directly involved in a landlord-tenant dispute.’
Sepulveda said he shares office space with a lawyer representing Khan in the case.
‘A warrant of eviction had been secured,’ he said. ‘And I think the eviction was probably was probably going to happen within a relatively short period and that’s what makes this so much more unfortunate.’
The lawmaker told the nydailynews that he met Khan in 2010, when he first ran for office, and their dealings were ‘mostly political.’
Adding: ‘He offered his support, and introduced me to a lot of leaders in the community, and was helpful in introducing me in many of the activists in the Bangladeshi-American community, in the local mosques.’
They kept in close contact until about 2015, when Khan became less active politically, he said.
Reiterated Sepulveda: ‘I’m a little shocked,’
‘I’m really somewhat stunned. I’m going to reach out to the wife and offer my assistance.’
