PUNE: Four men were arrested on Tuesday night, two days after they allegedly punched a 33-year-old human resource manager of a private firm to death in the parking area of a bar-cum-restaurant at Bhumkar Chowk in Ambegaon Pathar, off the Katraj-Dehu road bypass, on Sunday night.
The Bharati Vidyapeeth police said the arrested men punched Narendra Khaire (33) of Ambegaon Budruk furiously after he had asked them to move their two-wheeler as he wanted to take out his motorcycle from the parking area. The manager of the establishment was also arrested for negligence in duty, which allegedly resulted in the death.
"The death of an HR manager due to an assault by three people over a petty parking issue underlines the disturbing trend of growing lawlessness in the city. Last week, a woman IT professional was slapped and dragged down in Kharadi for asking a duo to drive their bike properly. Such lawlessness is a matter of grave concern. It’s time to take immediate steps to address this issue.-Timesview"
The victim was the son of retired IPS officer Raghunath Khaire, who served as a deputy commissioner of police in Pune city and retired as a special inspector-general of police. The police found an identity card on the victim and called his father.
A team headed by senior inspector Jagannath Kalaskar of the Bharati Vidyapeeth police arrested Yuvraj Kamble (20), Omkar Rithe (24), Vaibhav Adate (25) and Manoj Suryavanshi (24), all residents of Vadgaon Budruk, for the crime. A case of murder has been registered against them.
"We have also arrested Vishnu Kadam (26), the bar-cum-restaurant's manager, for neglecting the safety of the customer," Kalaskar said.
Ex-IPS officer's son punched to death in bar's parking lot
Senior inspector Kalaskar said Kamble and Rithe worked as ward boys with a private hospital in Narhe, Adate was a delivery agent and Suryavanshi was an autorickshaw driver.
The incident came to light on Monday morning after area residents found Khaire in an unconscious state in the parking area of the bar-cum-restaurant. "We took him to hospital. Later, the post-mortem report revealed that he was beaten to death and his internal organs were damaged from the punches he received," Kalaskar said.
"The CCTV cameras at the establishment showed that the arrested men went there on Sunday night. After consuming liquor, they came out and were chatting when Khaire exited the bar-cum-restaurant too. He found a motorcycle parked behind his two-wheeler and he failed to take it out. He then approached the group of four men and requested them to move their bike so that he could take out his motorcycle," he said.
"This enraged the four men and they punched Khaire, causing injuries to his vital organs. While starting his motorcycle, Khaire fell and became motionless. The four men left the place with his cellphone and headphones," Kalaskar said.
"The establishment's workers picked up Khaire and shifted him to a corner of the parking area. They did not shift him to hospital or give him medical aid. His father and other kin searched for him throughout the night but failed to locate him," he said.
Kalaskar said, "While studying CCTV footage, we identified one of the four men and nabbed him. From him, we got details of the three others and arrested them."
