A 52-year-old man was beaten to death by his friend over a game of Ludo in Malad (W), which the deceased was winning that fateful evening on March 17. Unaware of the fight, family of the deceased cremated him, only to later learn from his friends that it was not a natural death but murder. Acting on the family's complaint, a 34-year-old man was arrested for murder charges.
According to police sources, Tukaram Nalawade, 52, was playing a game of Ludo with his friend Amit Raj Popat aka Jimmy, 34, near Daruwala Compound in Malad (W) on March 17. Nalawade, a security guard, was on a winning streak that evening, while his friend Jimmy, a private car driver, was losing. A minor altercation over a sore game turned into a big fight, wherein Jimmy assaulted Nalwade with kicks and fisticuffs.
While Nalawade was going back home after being beaten up, he collapsed midway. The locals rushed to Jimmy, who took him to the hospital, but Nalwade was declared dead before arrival. Jimmy then bribed a Borivali-based hospital ambulance driver and got a fake death certificate for Nalawade, claiming that it was a natural death. The family then cremated Nalawade, only to learn three days later that he died due to the fight and not due to natural causes.
"After this revelation, the family approached Malad Police and lodged a complaint on March 20, following which we booked Amit Raj Popat aka Jimmy under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for murder and arrested him the same day," said Dhananjay Ligade, senior inspector of Malad police station.
