The Vanrai police arrested a 44-year-old man for allegedly murdering his former colleague with an iron rod on February 25. Both accused – Devraj Gowda and victim – Raghu alias Arun Gowda, 43 – were from the same village in Karnataka and had worked together at Dhadkan Bar in Goregaon East. The arrest took place in Mahim on Thursday, and he was remanded to police custody until March 3. Police said a work-related dispute led to the murder. Devaraj suspected Raghu had incited the bar owner against him and blamed him for an assault by a customer.
The attack occurred around 4am at the closed bar, where some employees sleep during the night. Devaraj, a former employee, entered by scaling the property and struck Raghu with an iron rod while he was asleep. A witness, Mahendra Karnaram Sen, fled in fear but later reported the incident to the police.
Raghu was rushed to a trauma care hospital in Jogeshwari East, where he succumbed to his injuries in the ICU. A murder case was registered, and police launched a manhunt. Acting on a tip-off, officers found Devaraj sleeping on a beach in Mahim and arrested him.
