Tipplers crush friend’s head with bricks for refusing to buy liquor

Two men have been arrested for allegedly killing their friend by crashing bricks on his head.

Manu, 23, and Nagaraja, 53, residents of Domlur Layout, allegedly pushed their friend Stephen, 34, into a canal pit and struck his head with bricks as a fight over buying liquor went out of hand. Manu is an auto-rickshaw driver while Nagaraja is a mason.

Halasuru police said Stephen's body was discovered at 10 am Monday in a pit dug up for laying water pipes. The spot is adjacent to Bayalu Rangamantapa on a service road in Domlur Layout. The contractor building the Rangamantapa found Stephen’s body when he arrived at the spot to inspect the building work.

On reaching the spot, police found Stephen’s body in a sitting position with severe head injuries. They gathered information about Stephen from the locals, who told them that Stephen and his friends regularly gathered there to drink.

Police reviewed the CCTV footage of surrounding buildings and traffic cameras, which gave them clues about the culprits. They zeroed in on the duo who hid in an isolated place. They found out that Stephen and Nagaraja were friends while Manu, a friend of the latter, joined the duo at the spot to drink once a week.

On Sunday night, Stephen joined Manu and Nagaraja who were having a party. The duo asked Stephen to buy them alcohol and assaulted him when he refused. They pushed him into the canal pit and struck him with bricks. Noticing him dead, the duo feared arrest and went into hiding.