Bar worker kills colleague over petty issue in Goregaon

MUMBAI: The Vanrai police have arrested a bar employee, who had fled after killing his colleague, within 48 hours of the case being registered. The arrested employee was identified as Devraj Virbhadra Gouda and the victim as Raghu alias Arun Gouda.

According to the police, Devraj suspected that Raghu was instigating the owner of the bar against him and that he was assaulted by a customer also because of him. These suspicions ultimately led him to attack Raghu in anger.

The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon at Dhadkan Bar & Restaurant on Vishweshwar Nagar Road in Goregaon East. Mahendra Karnaram Sen, who works at the bar and is an eyewitness of the murderous attack, told the police that there had been minor fights between Devraj and Raghu for the past few days. On Tuesday, Devraj attacked Raghu while he was asleep with a sharp weapon, causing grievous injuries. Sen said he fled the scene fearing that he would also be attacked.

Upon receiving a call from the bar staff, the Vanrai police rushed to the spot and admitted Raghu to Trauma Care Hospital in Jogeshwari, where he died while undergoing treatment in the Intensive Care Unit.

After his death, the police registered a case of murder against Devraj, who had fled the scene after committing the crime, based on a complaint filed by Sen. The Vanrai police and the Crime Branch swung into action and launched a manhunt to nab him.

Soon, senior police inspector Raju Mane received a tip-off that the accused was hiding in Mahim. A police team kept a close watch on the Retibandar area of Mahim and took Devraj into custody.

During interrogation, he confessed to the murder, after which he was arrested by the Vanrai police. “He suspected that the deceased had instigated the bar owner and a regular customer against him. So, he attacked him in his sleep with the intention to kill and fled to Mahim. But we arrested him within just 48 hours of the crime being registered,” said a police officer from Vanrai police station.

The accused was produced before the court which remanded him in police custody for four days.