In an apartment in Mumbai, India, a 35-year-old man was beaten to death with stones by two friends who suspected he had eaten a pot of fish alone.
According to the police, the incident occurred on February 24. At the time, the victim, Afzal, and his friends—Suresh and Rajesh—were cooking fish at their Goregaon residence in Mumbai. The victim was drinking at the time.
Soon after cooking the fish, the three fell asleep. During this time, mice ate all the fish in the pot, leaving it empty.
When Suresh and Rajesh woke up to eat the fish and found the pot empty, they suspected Afzal had eaten all the fish. They woke him up, and the three began to argue. In a fit of rage, the two suspects first punched and kicked Afzal, and then smashed his head with stones, killing him.
The two suspects then fled the scene, escaping to Haryana. The local police opened a case and launched a manhunt.
The police stated that the victim and both suspects were all scrap collectors.
Due to the suspects having neither mobile phones nor identification documents, police said the investigation was challenging. After questioning about 50 ragpickers in the area, police finally tracked down the suspects—Suresh was found in Haryana, and Rajesh was caught at a railway station.
Subsequently, both were arrested by the police.
The investigation revealed that Rajesh had previously committed several serious crimes, including murder and extortion. The police said the victim's body has been sent for autopsy, and the case is under further investigation.