Theatre manager killed over sexual advances

It was sexual harassment that allegedly led a coffee vendor at Cinemax theatre in Versova’s Infiniti Mall to kill his boss, the police claimed, reports Megha Sood.

It was sexual harassment that allegedly led a coffee vendor at Cinemax theatre in Versova’s Infiniti Mall to kill his boss, the police claimed.

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The police on Wednesday arrested Shrinath Yogi (30) and his friends Anil Thakur and Ramesh Baria for allegedly stabbing Mandar Patil (33) to death.

His fourth alleged killer, accused Sanjay Kanojiya, is absconding. All four are residents of Versova village.

On Tuesday morning, after receiving an alert from the control room, the police reached the ice factory ground opposite the Versova bus depot and found a body with severe injuries on the head, neck and abdomen.

Patil was a resident of

the nearby Patil gulli in Versova village where he stayed with his wife, mother and brother.

“After we had established Patil’s identity, we inquired with the Versova village residents and found out that he was bisexual,” said Senior Inspector Suresh Nalavde.

Working on this lead, the police said they rounded up “all homosexuals in the area” for questioning.

One of those detained reportedly told the police that Patil used to often meet his colleague Yogi for drinks.

“We detained Yogi and initially he tried to misguide us,” said Nalavde.

“Eventually he broke down and confessed to the crime. He also revealed the names of his friends who helped him kill his boss.”

Nalavde claimed that Patil, who had married a year ago, used to allegedly harass Yogi to have a physical relation with him. Since Yogi is not homosexual, he was upset.

When he told his friends that he wanted to quit, they assured him that they

would warn Patil to stop bothering him.

On Monday night, Patil allegedly sent an SMS to Yogi and asked him to come to “their usual spot to drink”.

“Yogi asked his friends to come along. When Patil reached the spot the three friends warned him to stay away from Yogi. When Patil refused, Thakur, who works in the housekeeping department at Sonata Constructions, threatened him with a pistol lighter,” said Nalavde.

“An angry Patil retaliated, and the four stabbed him to death. They dumped his body near the ice factory and fled.”