Mumbai: Eight held for lynching man over petty issue on Holi in Versova

Eight people were arrested by the Versova Police on Saturday for allegedly killing a 27-year-old man in Andheri's Seven Bungalows area a day prior. The arrested accused had allegedly killed Sujay Zinjotiya after he refused to pay money to them to buy liquor. The accused have been booked for murder charges, said police.

According to police, the incident occurred at around 10pm on Friday, after the Holi celebrations, when the victim, an estate agent, was consuming liquor by the mangroves in Seven Bungalows area with his friends. After Zinjotiya was out of liquor, in an inebriated condition, he approached a few other men to help him with finance for liquor.

The men, who too were drunk, refused to help him with cash and began hurling abuses, leading to a petty fight. When Zinjotiya retaliated, the men allegedly picked up bamboo sticks and thrashed the estate agent, till he was knocked unconscious before fleeing.

The locals, who witnessed the incident, then called the police control room and the police van came for the rescue and rushed Zinjotiya to the hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. The victim's brother, Rakesh, was traced, who lodged a complaint against the accused men.

Acting on the complaint, a case of murder, unlawful assembly and rioting was registered at Versova police station and eight men, who are residents were arrested. Police said that it was a petty fight which escalated to lynching.

Police are scrutinising the CCTV camera footage to ascertain if any more people were involved in the lynching and appropriate action will be initiated against them.

Published on: Sunday, March 20, 2022, 08:58 PM IST