Arambol killing: Three shack workers to face murder charges

Panaji: A Merces court has directed framing of charges against three shack workers, Surender Kumar, Lalit Thakur and Vibhishan Kumar, accused of murdering Amar Bandekar at Arambol beach in Jan 2025 when he was on an evening walk.


“There is sufficient prima facie material to suggest that all three accused intended to finish off the victim by looking at the number of injuries and the manner in which he was assaulted by them,” stated additional sessions judge Bosco G F Roberts.


“It would be premature to conclude that at the highest the victim’s death was merely a culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Ultimately after the trial, if it is found that the cognate offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder is made out, a lesser punishment can always be imposed on the accused,” the court stated.


The court then observed that despite assaulting the victim severely, causing him bleeding injuries, the accused chased the victim when he tried to escape.


It was only due to the intervention of the shack owner that the victim was taken to the lifeguard tower and administered first aid, the court observed.


The court added that despite this, when he was taken for medical treatment, he died due to injuries caused to his head and brain. The postmortem report clearly suggests grievous injury to the brain with cerebral oedema and subdural haemorrhage present in the right temporal area, the court observed.


Public prosecutor Shivram Patil submitted that most of the injuries were on Bandekar’s face and head and said it is a clear case of murder and not of culpable homicide.


Advocate Michael Nazareth for the accused argued that there is no material to suggest any previous enmity between the victim and accused. He further said there was no premeditation.


Nazareth added that the assault in January last year took place on the spur of the moment in a fit of rage, and that the incident happened because the victim interfered with the chairs arranged by the accused (shack workers) in front of the property.