Denied liquor, man sets store on fire, beats staff to death in Gurgaon

GURGAON: A 39-year-old man was arrested for allegedly beating to death the salesman of a liquor store in Pataudi and setting the premises on fire after being denied a bottle.
Vashishtha Prasad Chandra, who was thrashed on June 14, succumbed to injuries this Thursday after a weeklong battle at a private hospital.
Police said Hem Singh and his associates were drinking in their SUV outside the vend off the Daulatabad Kuni-Telpur road when they ran out of liquor.
They asked Chandra for a refill, but he did not respond as it was 2.30am and the store was closed.
"Singh and his friends were so angry that they picked up some hay lying near the store and set the premises on fire. When the salesman came out and intervened, they attacked him as well. They rained blows and kicks on him and fled when he was grievously injured," police spokesperson Subhash Boken said.
Sonu Kumar, the liquor store manager who lodged a police complaint, said the incident occurred around 2.30am.
"They kept shouting at the salesman and even dialled the number of the liquor store to ask for more bottles. But since it was so late at night, no one responded to them. After trying for a few more times, they eventually set fire to the outlet. When Chandra tried to stop them, they beat him up badly," he added.
An FIR under relevant sections was lodged at Pataudi police station. Section 302 (murder) was added to the FIR after Chandra's death on Thursday.
"We have arrested the main accused, Hem Singh. We have identified his associates as well. They will be nabbed soon," Boken said.
Last week, a customer died and two others were injured when two men fired indiscriminately outside a liquor store in Manesar.
Police have learnt that a Canada-based gangster had ordered the shooting to create "an atmosphere of fear" so that his father got the licence of the liquor store.