He was born in a poor farmer family. He was a worker in one of the cotton mills in Mumbai. He was an active participant in the protests organized by Indian independence activists against the import of foreign-made cloth. On 12th December, 1930, a cloth merchant named George Frazier of Manchester was moving loads of foreign made cloth from his shop in old Hanuman galli in the Fort region to Mumbai port. He was given police protection. The activists begged not to move the truck, but the police forced the protesters aside and managed to get the truck moving. Near Bhaangwadi on Kalbadevi road, Shahid Babu Genu stood in front of the truck, shouting praises for Mahatma Gandhi. The police officer ordered the driver to drive the truck over Shahid Babu Genu, but driver was Indian, he didn’t and said I am Indian and he is also Indian. So, we both are brothers of each other, then how can murder my brother? After that, the English police officer sat on the driver seat and drove the truck over Babu Genu and crushed him to death under the truck. This resulted in a huge wave of anger, strikes, and protests throughout Mumbai.