The manager and waiter of a restaurant and bar in Mira Road were found murdered at their workplace late on Thursday night. Their bodies were retrieved from the underground water tank in a highly decomposed state. According to police, the incident was reported from Hotel Shabari, a restaurant and bar located near the MTNL office in the Sheetal Nagar area of Mira Road.
Sources said one of the colleagues of the deceased was being investigated for his alleged involvement in the crime. However, investigators said that it would be premature to confirm anything at this stage. The deceased have been identified as Harish Shetty, 48, the bar manager, and Naresh Pandit, 52, the waiter. "Going by the extent of decomposition of both the bodies, it appears that they were murdered at least four days ago. While postmortem reports to ascertain the exact cause and time of death are still awaited, visible injuries on the bodies indicate the duo were violently assaulted.
Some suspects are on the radar for their involvement and further investigations are underway. Special teams have been formed to crack the case at the earliest, " said Deputy Superintendent of Police Shantaram Valvi. The police were alerted about the incident by the bar owner, P Gangadhare, who claimed to have received a call from the mobile phone of the deceased, informing him about the murders. They immediately reached the spot and retrieved the bodies with the help of the fire brigade. Not ruling out a drunken brawl and the role of an insider, the police suspect that more than one person may have participated in the crime.
After being under repairs for over a year, the eatery had re-opened under a new management early this year, only to be shut down since March 20, shortly before the nationwide lockdown. However, some of the staffers were staying on the premises. A case under section 302 and 201 of the IPC has been registered at the Mira Road police station and further investigations are underway.
'We have not found any suicide note, and neither has his family raised any suspicion of foul play. We have registered an accidental death report and our investigation is underway," said S Agawane, senior police inspector of Agripada police station. This is the second suicide by a patient at the BYL Nair hospital. On April 15, a 29-year-old woman undergoing treatment for COVID-19 hung herself at the hospital.
A 60-year-old COVID-19 patient hung himself at SevenHills Hospital in Marol, Andheri East on May 9. Apart from tracking the phone number from which the calls were made, police are trying to procure footage from the Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras in and around the crime scene and possible getaway routes.
Although the establishment was closed due to the ongoing lockdown, some staffers were staying on the premises. The hotel management was apparently preparing to start take-away facilities, sources said. The owner and other staff members were being questioned, the police said.
