Mumbai crime: Security firm owner found dead in flat

Avinash Mishra's firm employed around 70 guards

Avinash Mishra, a Chandivali resident was found hanging from the ceiling fan of his apartment on Friday morning. Mishra, 28, ran a security agency and his family believes this is a case of murder, not suicide.

Meanwhile, the Sakinaka police, have registered a case of Accidental Death and have sent the body for a post-mortem. Mishra, a resident of SRA Colony in Sangharsh Nagar, was living with his associate, Amit Mishra, 35. Avinash's agency, JVS, employed around 70 guards. In the first week of May, he had gone to his hometown Allahabad to visit his parents. "His family was planning to get him married; he returned to Mumbai on May 15," said Avinash's uncle Ramesh Pande. "In a very small time, he had formed and developed his company and was earning good money from it," Pande added.

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Police say that on Friday morning, Amit informed the building secretary that Avinash wasn't opening the door to his room. Police and the fire brigade were called in and when they forced the door open, the found Avinash hanging from the ceiling fan tied to a dupatta. His knees were touching the floor. He was taken to Rajawadi Hopsital where he was declared dead on arrival. "The circumstances in which the body was found raises many questions, more importantly how can one hang himself if his legs touch the ground? There is no mark on his neck, which appears after hanging," an officer from Sakinaka police station said on condition of anonymity.

According to Avinash's relatives, Amit works as a supervisor at JVS and looked after its financial aspects. Pande says the family suspects his role in the murder. "Amit was constantly in touch with him and had access to Avinash's flat. He didn't even bother to inform us of the death, it was the cops who told us." He added, "Avinash was weighed around 80 kg. If he had hanged himself from the fan, it would have broken and fallen. At the very least, there would have been some distortion in its shape but that isn't the case." Avinash's family then staged a protest at the police station on Saturday night, demanding an FIR under IPC section 302 (murder) be registered in the case. In the meanwhile, Amit has been detained by the police.

After four hours, the cops agreed to do a second post mortem at JJ Hospital as the post mortem at Rajawadi couldn't specify cause of death. "We have also demanded inquiry of six persons, including Amit, Nisha (Amit's wife), Brahmadev Mishra (Amit's father) and three others, with whom Avinash had disputes," said Ruturaj Mishra, Avinash's brother.

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