Mumbai: Power bill tiff turns fatal for house owner

Representational image. Pic/iStock

A heated argument over an electricity bill turned tragic, when a tenant allegedly hit the house owner on his head with a hammer and left him to die. The murder came to light on May 2, when the residents of Bangadpada, Govandi, noticed a foul smell emanating from the victim's house. When the Shivaji Nagar police arrived, they found the body of Ganpati Jha, 49, on the first floor of the tenement.

"We had suspected the body to be two days old. We informed Jha's cousin about his death," said an officer. Jha's cousin Yogendra Jha had seen the body before it was taken to Rajawadi Hospital for post mortem.

"Ganpati's body was lying on the floor and there appeared some bleeding from the nose. The body was in a state of decomposition. The police had first registered an accidental death report (ADR)," said Yogendra.

He then enquired with the neighbours as he suspected that this was not a natural death. "Neighbours told me that Jha's tenant Abdul Shaikh residing on the ground floor had a fight with him over an electricity bill. I passed on this information to the police," he said. Shaikh, 63, was employed in a bakery shop.

According to the police, Jha and Shaikh had a verbal disagreement over the electricity bill. However, a furious Shaikh in fit of rage allegedly hit Shaikh's head with a hammer and left him in a pool of blood.

The ADR was turned into an FIR on May 4.

Shaikh was arrested from the residence.