CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: Three men fatally stabbed a 28-year-old software engineer as he tried to prevent them from beating up a waiter at an eatery at Jhalta Phata in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar rural over payment for a bottle of soft drink around 3.30am on Friday.
Police said the trio attacked Santosh Raju Petti, who was accompanied by his driver, suspecting that he was the eatery owner.
An officer said Chikalthana police detained two of the attackers from Nashik district based on CCTV footage from the eatery located on the highway to Jalna. “The third suspect is a resident of the city’s Begampura area and is on the run,” the officer said.
The officer said Petti’s brother, sister, and parents were returning to the city from Hyderabad – where they had gone to attend a marriage ceremony – after being informed about the incident.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Petti’s family was originally from Hyderabad. His father had opened a dairy outlet in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city. Since then, the Pettis were living in this city, police said.
Additional superintendent of police Sunil Lanjewar said trouble started when the three men reached the eatery and forced the staffers to open the outlet and serve food. At the time of leaving the eatery, the prime suspect took a soft drink and got infuriated when the waiter asked him to pay the bill.
“He went to his car, brought a sharp-edged weapon, and started threatening the eatery staffers. Around the same time, Petti reached the eatery for some food and tea. On seeing the three men threatening and beating up the waiter, Petti tried to prevent them. The prime suspect thought Petti was the eatery owner, pulled out a knife, and stabbed him,” Lanjewar said.