Shabbar Zaidy was a vocal and active supporter of the ‘Save Karbala Jor Bagh Land Movement’, a movement which is fighting to save the Karbala land in the upscale Jor Bagh area in Delhi from alleged land grabbers. He was heavily involved in all activities for the movement and contributed both financially and by mobilizing other supporters for the movement. Out of 20,000 participants, he was chosen to felicitate the main dignitaries at the ‘Save Waqf Conference’. One day after presiding over the conference, on 25 March 2019, he was shot dead outside him home.

In a complaint lodged with the Delhi police commissioner, Union home minister and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), among others, it was alleged that senior Congress leader and Gandhi family loyalist Ahmed Patel had been continuously threatening him and fellow activists of the Shia body, including general secretary Bahadur Abbas Naqvi. Patel, they allege, is the force behind those trying to illegally lay claim on the valuable holy land. The complaint demanded that the murder be investigated fully and that protection be provided for the other members of the movement as their lives are also at risk.