A 35-year-old man was beaten and crushed to death with a stone by his two friends - who suspected him of finishing a pan full of fish at their flat in Mumbai.
According to the police, the incident took place on February 24 when the victim, identified as Afsar, and his two friends - Suresh and Rajesh Rameshnath alias Nepali - were cooking fish in their house in Mumbai's Goregaon. The victim was drinking alcohol at the time.
After a short while preparing the dish, all three of them fell asleep. During this time, rats ate the cooked fish from the pan, leaving it empty.
When Suresh and Rajesh woke up to eat, they saw there were no fish left in the pan. Suspecting that Afsar had eaten it all, they woke him up, and the three got into an argument. In a fit of rage, the two accused beat Afsar with kicks and punches and then killed him by crushing his head with a stone.
The two accused immediately left the scene and fled to Haryana.
A case of murder was filed at the Vanrai police station, and a manhunt was launched to arrest the accused.
The victim and the two men were scrap dealers, officials said.
While Suresh is a resident of Haryana's Kaithal, Rajesh is a resident of Nepal, officials added.
Police said that the investigation posed a significant challenge as the two men did not have a mobile phone or any identification documents. After questioning around 50 garbage pickers in the area, the cops managed to trace the accused - while Suresh was found in Haryana, cops found Rajesh at a railway station.
Subsequently, they were arrested.
Investigation revealed that Rajesh was previously involved in several serious crimes, including murder and extortion.
The victim's body has been sent for post-mortem, and further investigation is underway, police said.
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