Dubai-based Indian expat beats his countryman to death

Dubai: An Indian man has been accused of beating his countryman to death with his bare hands over a dispute.

The Dubai Court of First Instance heard on Sunday that the Indian victim was under the influence of alcohol when a fight broke out in his rented room at a sharing accommodation in International City in August this year.

According to records, the victim’s mother was worried as she kept calling her son without an answer. She then called his friend who went to the apartment to check and found him lying dead on the bed after breaking the door with the security guard. Dubai Police were alerted and investigations revealed that he had died three days before the body was discovered.

Four witnesses living in the apartment testified that the deceased hardly ever left his room and that he was always under the influence of alcohol.

“Our investigation revealed that he had a problem with the suspect who used to collect the rents from tenants. The suspect was arrested and he admitted to physically assaulting the victim,” said a 28-year-old Emirati policeman on record.

The 31-year-old Indian defendant said that he was assigned by the owner of the apartment to collect rents from the tenants. The defendant admitted that on the day of the incident, inspectors were searching residential units to catch violators who had rented out their apartments illegally. The defendant had locked the victim’s room from outside to deceive the inspectors that the room was empty. Once the inspectors left, he opened the door to find the victim was furious.

“The victim was angry because the defendant had locked the door. The defendant claimed that the victim was under the influence of alcohol and insulted him. The defendant got angry before kicking and punching the victim several times until he fell unconscious,” added the Emirati policeman. The defendant then put the victim’s body on the bed and left.

Medical reports revealed that the victim had died as a result of the assault, which caused internal bleeding in his brain.

Dubai Public Prosecution has charged the defendant with assault leading to death.

The next hearing is scheduled for January 2021.