Latur: A court in Maharashtra's Latur city on Wednesday remanded a doctor, arrested for allegedly murdering a security guard working at his hospital, in police custody till December 30. The doctor, Pramod Ghuge, and his nephew Aniket Munde, were booked after the victim, Balu Bharat Dongre, employed as a security guard at the absconding physician's hospital in Latur, died on December 12 and his family alleged murder, police earlier said.
Based on a tip, Ghuge was detained from an 'ashram' in Haridwar in Uttarakhand on Monday after being on the run for several days, an official said on Wednesday. After the incident, the driver of the doctor had dropped him in Pune as the latter told him he wanted to attend a conference there. From Pune, the accused went to Haridwar where he was apprehended on Monday.
He was brought to Latur on Wednesday morning and produced before a local court which remanded him in police custody till December 30. Ghuge's nephew Munde is still at large and two police teams are searching for him, inspector Dilip Sagar told PTI. According to the police, the mother of the deceased, resident of India Nagar in Latur city, had filed a complaint at the Shivajinagar Police Station, alleging her son, earlier arrested in an abduction case, was brutally beaten to death in hospital premises over demanding salary.
Based on the complaint, police registered a case under section 103 (1) (murder), 3 (5) and other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against Ghuge and his nephew Munde, who was also allegedly involved in the crime. According to the police, Ghuge was allegedly involved in thrashing and kidnapping a lift contractor, and coerced Dongre into participating in the abduction, promising him salary without work.
After Dongre's arrest in the abduction case, Ghuge paid him salary for a few months, but later stopped the wages. When the victim confronted him, the doctor allegedly threatened him, they said. On December 12, Ghuge informed the security guard's family that he was admitted to the hospital in critical condition. Dongre's father later found his son had died of severe injuries that indicated physical assault, according to the police.
As per the FIR, Dongre had come to the hospital to demand salary when Ghuge and his nephew Munde started beating him up. The victim, who suffered serious injures, was admitted to the ICU, and his motorcycle, parked at the hospital gate, was damaged in order to destroy evidence.
Ghuge informed the Shivajinagar police that Dongre had died of a heart attack after he met with an accident. However, the security guard's family alleged foul play and filed the complaint, the police said.
