Surat: A case initially registered as an accidental death turned out to be a murder after Sachin GIDC police uncovered evidence suggesting that a 55-year-old man was killed following a dispute over payment for gutka. The accused was arrested after police registered a murder case on Sunday.The deceased, identified as Shivkumar Yadav, was found dead around 8am on Oct 11, on a makeshift pavement near a scrap warehouse on Shivanagar Road. He had sustained a severe head injury, and a broken piece of a concrete fencing pillar bearing bloodstains was found near his lifeless body.Sachin GIDC police inspector K A Gohil told TOI that the scene initially suggested Yadav might have accidentally fallen against the concrete pillar. However, the nature of the injury raised suspicions, prompting police to conduct a postmortem examination, which revealed that he had been struck on the head.After the death was found to be unnatural, police formed multiple teams to identify and apprehend the accused. During the investigation, police learnt that Yadav had been living on the pavement with Mangalprasad Avasthi.Police examined CCTV footage from more than 100 locations in the surrounding area and questioned over 300 people, including local residents, traders, passers-by and street vendors.“The investigation led us to suspect Avasthi, who had disappeared from the area on the day of the incident. After initially denying any knowledge of the incident for the first couple of days, he eventually confessed to killing Yadav,” Gohil said.According to police, Avasthi sold gutka, pan masala and snack packets. Yadav would frequently ask him for gutka. Avasthi had initially given him the product free of charge for a few days but later refused to provide it without payment.A quarrel broke out between the two on the night of the incident when Yadav again demanded gutka. Police said Avasthi attacked Yadav with the concrete pillar while he was asleep, killing him on the spot.Based on a complaint by the victim’s brother, police registered a murder case and arrested Avasthi, who hails from Uttar Pradesh.
