Patna: A hotel waiter was stabbed to death in the Banjari locality under Town police station area of Gopalganj district following a dispute over a motorcycle key during a hotel staff member’s birthday party on Saturday night, police said. The victim, Anish Kumar (21), a resident of Tarwa village under the Mirganj police station area, had been working as a waiter captain.According to police, hotel employees were celebrating the birthday of an employee, Rahul Kumar, when another waiter, Gautam, asked Anish for his bike key. Anish refused and told him that the key should be deposited at the counter.The argument allegedly escalated in the hotel kitchen, where Gautam and Rahul are accused of attacking Anish with a knife. He suffered three stab wounds to his back and was critically injured. Another employee, Sonu Kumar (18), sustained injuries while trying to intervene. Anish was rushed to Gopalganj Sadar Hospital, where he died during treatment early on Sunday.Family members alleged that Gautam, a resident of Muzaffarpur district, had left his job at the hotel around 20 days ago but returned to attend the birthday party. The victim’s elder brother, Ritesh Kumar Singh, alleged that Gautam had been called to the hotel as part of a conspiracy to allegedly execute the crime.He also claimed that the police response was delayed despite calls to Dial 112 and alleged that the hotel owner did not answer their calls. Police said Gautam was caught by hotel staff immediately after the incident and handed over to them.“Besides Gautam, two other accused involved in the incident, Rahul and Sujoy, were arrested from the Vrindavan area under Thawe police station area while they were trying to flee,” Sadar SDPO Chandan Kumar said.Angry family members and local residents later staged a protest outside the hotel with the victim’s body. Police said three suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder.
