Man intervenes to settle quarrel over ₹250 restaurant bill, beaten to death in Mumbai

He suffered severe injuries to his head during the assault. He collapsed on the street and was rushed to Trauma Care Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

A 29-year-old man who stepped in to settle a quarrel over a ₹250 restaurant bill was beaten to death with wooden planks in Goregaon West on Wednesday night. The Goregaon police arrested two men on Thursday for allegedly killing him.

Police officers and forensic teams visited the crime scene and seized wooden fragments, a liquor bottle and other material. (PTI/Representational Image)

Mohammad Aziz Khan, a driver and cement-gravel supplier from Prem Nagar, had gone to Salman Hotel on Vasari Hill Road with his co-worker Rajesh Patel at around 11.45pm.

What happened?

According to the police, the accused, Vikas Paswan, 23, an office boy, and Ajay Upadhyay, 39, were among two patrons who refused to pay the full ₹250 bill and offered ₹200 to hotel operator Danish Khan. When Aziz intervened to settle the dispute, the two men allegedly turned on him and Patel and assaulted them with their hands and wooden planks.

Aziz suffered severe injuries to his head during the assault. He collapsed on the street and was rushed to Trauma Care Hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.

A case was registered under Sections 103(1) (murder), 115(2), 351(3), 352 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on a complaint filed by Aziz’s brother, Mohammad Habib Khan.

Police officers and forensic teams visited the crime scene and seized wooden fragments, a liquor bottle and other material suspected to be connected to the assault.

Investigators then scanned CCTV footage from the area and questioned eyewitnesses, which helped them identify the suspects. Paswan was arrested first, followed by Upadhyay. The two accused will be produced before a court on Friday.