Three held for dhaba employee’s death

Owner’s estranged wife wanted eatery torched.

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The mysterious death of a 29-year-old employee of dhaba after he was set on fire by some miscreants, has taken an interesting twist.The estranged wife of one of the partners of the dhaba had allegedly hatched a plot to destroy the U Turn Dhaba at Hessaraghatta, in order to ‘teach’ her husband a lesson. But the plan went awry after an employee, identified as Manoj (29), also lost his life.

The police have arrested three people for setting the shop on fire and killing the victim. They have been identified as Manjunath, a rowdy sheeter, Manu Kumar and Hemanth. They have also taken into custody Sheethal, the wife of one of the partners.

The dhaba was run by three partners – Arpith, Deepak and Sachin. Arpith’s wife Sheethal, the main accused, had given supari to the three accused to burn the dhaba. The couple’s marriage was on the rocks and Arpith had sent Sheethal to her parent’s house.

On December 24, while the accused were setting fire to the dhaba, Manoj happened to see it, as he used to sleep inside the shop after work. Fearing that he would report to the police, the gang poured petrol on him and set him on fire.

Manoj breathed his last on December 28 at Victoria Hospital. The Soladevanahalli police had registered a case in this regard.

“Both Arpith and Sheethal got in touch through a matrimonial website. Within four months of their wedding, the couple started fighting over trivial issues. Frustrated over the frequent fights, Arpith had sent Sheethal back to her parents’ house. He then got busy with the dhaba business. Sheethal got frustrated after her husband did not visit her. She hatched a plot to ‘teach’ him a lesson. Sheethal knew Manu Kumar and gave him a supari of Rs 20,000 to set fire to the dhaba. She hoped it will force her husband to visit her,” said a police officer.

Manu Kumar along with his two associates had gone on December 24 to set the dhaba on fire. Of the three arrested, two are habitual criminals involved in dacoity, extortion, kidnapping and other heinous crimes.

The Soladevanahally police who had initially registered a case of attempt to murder (IPC 307) later changed it to murder (IPC 302) after Manoj’s death.