Hotel employee locked up and beaten over suspicion of gold theft, dies in Belagavi hospital

BELAGAVI: An 18-year-old youth, who was working in a hotel died after he was tortured and locked up in a room over allegations of stealing gold at Manikwadi near Khanapur. The victim Venkappa Meyyekar succumbed to his injuries in hospital.

Venkappa, a resident of Manikwadi, had joined work at Swaraj hotel on the outskirts of Khanapur three months ago. On August 20, he was accused of stealing gold and was alleged tortured by the hotel owner Nagesh Gundu Bedare and his brother Vijay Bedare.

A severely injured Venkappa was admitted to the Belagavi Institute of Medical Sciences (BIMS) Hospital where he succumbed to injuries. When Venkappa’s parents questioned the hotel owners about the torture, they were allegedly threatened of life, given Rs 10,000 and sent away.

Initially scared to lodge a complaint, the parents later approached the Khanapur police after the villagers extended their support to the couple. The parents are now seeking justice for the murder of their only son.