Hotelier killed with sword in Candolim, two held

PANAJI

: A

hotelier

from the beach belt of

Candolim

was murdered on Tuesday after he was attacked with swords by two persons known to him. Vishwajit Singh was attacked by Umesh Rathod and Dayashankar at around 2am when he returned home from work, police said.

Both Rathod and Dayashankar, who police said were residents of Gadag in Karnataka, were arrested within 12 hours of the crime after Goa police alerted their Karnataka counterparts.

North Goa superintendent of police (SP) Chandan Choudhary said that prima facie it appeared that the reason for the murder was a two-wheeler belonging to Singh that Rathod had stolen. However, the exact motive behind the murder would only be revealed once the duo were interrogated, Choudhary said.

Police sources said that, in Goa, Rathod lived in Nerul while his friend Dayashankar lived in Calangute. “Rathod used to get customers for Singh’s hotels. He was not officially employed by Singh,” Choudhary said.

Choudhary told TOI that the incident likely took place between 1.30am and 2am, on Tuesday.

The accused, police said, went to Sun and Sand apartments in Candolim where Singh lived and waited for him to return from work. “As soon as Singh got out of his car, one of the accused stabbed him with a sword. Singh ran, but he fell after 50m and the accused stabbed him again before fleeing,” Calangute PI Jivba Dalvi said.

The incident was witnessed by the watchman, who raised an alarm. “Singh’s friends arrived at the spot and shifted him to the Candolim primary health centre, where he was declared dead,” Dalvi said.

Police said that they got a clue about the identity of the accused from the CCTV footage they attached and the panchanama they conducted along with the forensic team and dog squad.

Police said that the deceased, originally from Nagpur and a permanent resident of Mumbai, had been living in Goa with his family for the last seven years. He ran three hotels in the state with his brother, including Royal Mirage in Candolim, which belongs to one Dimpy, a native Punjab.

On July 9, Rathod had borrowed a two-wheeler belonging to Singh on the pretext of going for a film shooting, saying he needed it for only half an hour, Choudhary said. However, when Singh started calling the accused asking him to return the two-wheeler, the later kept delaying, Choudhary said, adding that Singh later filed a complaint at the police station accusing Rathod of stealing his vehicle.

When police tried to trace the two-wheeler, Rathod’s location was traced to Pune, Mumbai, etc, Choudhary said.

A family member of the deceased, Channi Singh told TOI that after the complaint was registered, the deceased began receiving threatening calls from Rathod.

Choudhary said that Singh received a call from Rathod on Monday, saying that he would come to his apartment to return the two-wheeler.

Police said that many touts worked for Singh and that they would get customers for the hotel. Police alleged that several illegalities were being committed at the hotel, including the operating of an alleged illegal disco.

Sarpanch of Candolim village panchayat Blaize Fernandes said that the panchayat had written to chief minister Manohar Parrikar asking for action to be taken against the Royal Mirage hotel at Candolim for alleged illegalities. “We are also fighting a case in court against the alleged illegalities in the hotel,” Fernandes said.

Calangute MLA and deputy speaker Michael Lobo said that he had complained to the CM to take strict action against the illegalities in the hotel.