Drunken brawl turns deadly: Labourer beaten to death near construction site, accused arrested

A case, which was initially suspected to be an accidental death due to intoxication, has now turned into a murder case after the Whitefield police uncovered evidence pointing to a fatal assault near an under-construction building in Kundalahalli under Whitefield police station limits.

The deceased has been identified as S. Mehboob Basha, 59, a resident of Kundalahalli, while the accused has been identified as Sundaramurthy alias Shankar, 26. The police have arrested the accused and booked him under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for murder.

According to the complaint filed by the deceased’s daughter, Sabiha Basha, 28, Mehboob Basha had struggled with alcohol addiction for several years and had frequently suffered injuries after falling while intoxicated. Following the death of his wife in 2013 due to illness, he had reportedly developed severe alcoholism.

The police said that on the night of May 24, Mehboob Basha called his daughter around 9.30 p.m. while consuming alcohol and asked her to come near the house. Around 10.43 p.m., a neighbour informed the family that he had collapsed near the residence with serious injuries.

When family members reached the spot, they found Mehboob Basha lying unconscious with visible injuries on his body and fingers. He was later declared dead.

Initially, the police suspected that the victim might have died after accidentally falling in a drunken state. However, during the investigation, forensic teams, fingerprint experts, dog squad personnel and Scene of Crime Officers (SOCO) inspected the spot and collected evidence.

The police also examined CCTV footage from the surrounding area and questioned local witnesses staying near the construction site. During the probe, investigators allegedly found that Mehboob Basha had consumed alcohol with the accused near the under-construction building before a quarrel broke out between them around 10.30 p.m.

According to the police, the argument escalated, and the accused allegedly assaulted Mehboob Basha with a wooden stick, leading to his death. The body was transferred to Vaidehi Hospital for a postmortem examination before being returned to the family.

Based on the evidence collected during the investigation, the Whitefield police converted the unnatural death report into a murder case and arrested the accused. Further investigation is under way.