MAN HAMMERS FRIEND TO DEATH, INJURES OTHER

MUMBAI:A 45-year-old man bludgeoned one of his two friends with a hammer and inflicted serious injuries to another in an inebriated state drunk state. The injured man has been admitted to Sion hospital in a critical state. His condition is stable.

The incident took place in the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday when Sabbal Jagal Chaudhary alias Bengali, who digs graves at Bohri cemetery at Kurla (West), was consuming alcohol with his friend Javed Shaikh, 32, at Chaudhary’s residence in Kurla.

During their conversation, Chaudhary got angry over a trivial issue and started fighting. Another friend of theirs, Ayyaz Ejaz Khan, 29, heard them fight and went to check on them around 1.30am on Wednesday. According to Khan, both Chaudhary and Shaikh were drunk and Shaikh was allegedly asking Chaudhary as to why he wanted to kill Shaikh.

“Chaudhary then picked up a hammer from the kitchen and hit Shaikh’s head two to three times. When Khan tried to intervene, Chaudhary hit him on his head with the hammer as well. However, Chaudhary managed to flee while Khan informed other neighbours about the incident,” said senior inspector Dattatray Shinde of Kurla police station.

Shaikh’s brother took them to Sion hospital where Shaikh was declared dead on arrival. “Khan’s condition was critical, but later the doctor said his condition was stable,” said Shinde.

A case of murder and attempt to murder has been registered against Chaudhary. He was traced to Bhandup and was arrested on Wednesday.