The police on Tuesday arrested a 61-year-old retired constable for allegedly murdering his son in their Powai residence over a domestic dispute late on Monday.
According to the Powai police, the accused, Gulab Galande, is a former constable who took voluntary retirement after 15 years of service and then worked in the security department of a private construction firm till 2017. Officials said his relationship with his elder son, Harish (40), was severely strained due to the latter’s compulsive alcoholism and its effects on his family life. Harish was posted as a constable with the Government Railway Police in Andheri.
“Harish and Mr. Galande would have frequent arguments over the former spending all his earnings on his addiction and his neglect of his family. Harish had been married for over 12 years and had two sons but continued to come home at odd hours after drinking heavily. He had also accumulated a debt of ₹25 lakh, which Mr. Galande had managed to pay off at great personal cost,” an officer with the Powai police said.
The officer said on the night of the incident, Harish came home drunk with a bottle of liquor in his hands and this led to an argument between the father and son. The Galandes stayed in a ground-plus-one structure in Ganesh Nagar and Harish’s brother was on the first floor, where the argument broke out, while his wife and sons were on the ground floor.
In the heat of the argument, Harish sprang at his father with the liquor bottle raised in the air. Mr. Galande allegedly seized a sickle that was lying nearby and hit him on the head with it, cleaving his skull in the process. Harish was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead before admission while some of the Galandes’ neighbours informed the Powai police about the incident.
“Mr. Galande was still in the house when our team got there and surrendered without resistance. He was arrested and charged with murder under the Indian Penal Code,” Assistant Commissioner of Police (Saki Naka division) Milind Khetle said, adding that the accused has been remanded in police custody till March 21.
