Chandigarh: Man held guilty of killing co-worker at Sector-27 dhaba

Nearly four years after a dhaba worker bludgeoned his co-worker to death with a brick amid the Covid-19 lockdown, a local court held him guilty of murder on Monday.

Budhi Lal, alias Golu, now aged 23, was convicted under Sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Hailing from Attari, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, he was arrested for murdering his co-worker Arjun, 35, and dumping his body outside a booth in Sector 27 on April 20, 2020.

After discovering the body, police had spotted a man bringing the body on his shoulder at 4.28 am, dumping it and leaving.

Later, Anurag, owner of Paul Sweets and Dhaba, Sector 27, recognised the deceased as his worker Arjun.

Anurag told the police that his shop had been lying closed due to the Covid-19 lockdown in Chandigarh. His workers, Arjun and Budhi Lal, used to live on the first floor of the shop.

On April 20, 2020, he visited the shop to check on them, but didn’t find them.

That evening, he came across police and identified the deceased as his worker. After he suspected that Budhi killed Arjun, an FIR under Sections 302 and 201 of the IPC was registered against Budhi, and he was arrested from the adjoining sector.

Probe revealed that on the intervening night of April 19-20, Arjun and Budhi had a scuffle while consuming liquor in the SCO.

In a fit of rage, Budhi attacked him with a brick, leading to his death. He then wrapped the body in a blanket and bedsheet, carried it on his shoulder and dumped it in the corridor of Sector 27 market. Thereafter, he returned to the SCO and washed it thoroughly to clean the blood stains, police said.

Police had recovered a brick and blood-stained jacket following Budhi’s arrest.

Observing that the prosecution had been able to bring home the charges under Sections 302 and 201 of the IPC against the accused, the court held him guilty. The quantum of sentence will be pronounced on January 30.