Man bludgeoned to death outside wine shop near Raj Nagar Extn; staffer held

According to Upasana Pandey, assistant commissioner of police (Nandgram circle), Shanker suspected that Pal stole his mobile phone, which he had lost late Sunday night

A 40-year-old man was allegedly bludgeoned to death by a wine shop staffer following an altercation over a missing phone outside the shop near Raj Nagar Extension early Monday morning, police said. 

Police said Pal had purchased liquor from the same shop on Sunday night and later slept outside the store in an inebriated state, as he did not go home. (HT Photos)

The victim, identified as Chandra Pal, a resident of nearby Sihani, was allegedly attacked by Rama Shanker, 35, a salesman at the same wine shop, between 3:30am and 4am, officials said. Police arrested the suspect on Monday afternoon. 

According to Upasana Pandey, assistant commissioner of police (Nandgram circle), Shanker suspected that Pal had stolen his mobile phone, which he had lost late Sunday night. “The staff thought that the victim had taken away his mobile, and he entered into a fight with him. During the incident, the suspect staff hit the victim with a heavy blunt object several times on his head. This led him to die on the spot. Later, some locals spotted the body and informed the police,” Pandey said. 

Police said Pal had purchased liquor from the same shop on Sunday night and later slept outside the store in an inebriated state, as he did not go home. “The deceased suffered severe head injuries, and the body was sent for autopsy,” an officer said. 

A case of murder has been registered against the suspect at the Nandgram police station on the basis of a complaint by the victim’s relatives. “Based on CCTV footage, the suspect was identified and arrested near Raj Nagar Extension on Monday afternoon. It has come to light that the suspect got employed at the liquor shop about two days ago by his employer,” Pandey added. 

The FIR in the case was lodged by the sister-in-law of the deceased man. The FIR was registered on Monday afternoon under BNS section 103(1) against suspect Rama Shankar.

“My brother-in-law was a sweets’ confectioner and had gone to the wine shop late Monday night. He had gone to the wine shop located at Tyagi Market near Raj Nagar Extension. There, the salesman picked up a fight with him and hit him repeatedly on his head. It led to severe injuries and he died as a result,” Shashi Pal, the sister-in-law of the deceased said in the FIR.

The police said that the suspect had fled the spot soon after the incident and there was no eye-witness to the case. However, a CCTV footage captured the incident and the suspect, and he was arrested upon local information, said Umesh Kumar, SHO of Nandgram police station.