The NRI Police arrested a 32-year-old on charges of assault, kidnapping and abatement of suicide after a 22-year-old manager of a paying guest facility allegedly committed suicide. The accused, who is in charge of the paying guests, assaulted the victim with an iron rod for the alleged misappropriation of funds from the paying guest facility.
The manager of the paying guest, identified as Namraj Gauri (Padam Bishta), was found to have committed suicide by hanging himself at his residence at his home in Kharghar on Monday morning. During the investigation, the police found that the paying guest in charge, Pradeep Rajendra Chaudhary, assaulted him a day before the incident for alleged funds misappropriation. According to police, Chaudhary allegedly took Gauri to Diwale village and beat him with an iron rod. After the victim returned home, he allegedly committed suicide. A senior police official from NRI Coastal Police informed that Gauri was working as a manager at a paying guest in Ulwe, where Chaudhary was in charge. Chaudhary suspected Gauri of misappropriating hostel Rs 60000 funds, which he later recovered. However, Chaudhary further alleged that Gauri is taking extra Rs. 5,500 from hostel customers.
Based on this suspicion, Chaudhary, along with unknown accomplices, took Gauri from Ulwe a day before the incident to a flat near the Saibaba temple in Diwali village and beat him severely with an iron pipe. The mother of the victim who is also complainant said that Gauri went into depression after the inciddent and subsequently he committed suicide by hanging herself. A case was registered against Chaudhary under sections 306 (abetment to suicide), 363 (kidnapping) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code at the NRI Sagari police station. He was arrested on February 6 around 12.30 am.