Petro executive murder: Cops prepare to get answers from booked colleagues

Priyam Shrivastava on February 13, celebrates birthday with his flatmates

The Navi Mumbai Crime Branch probing the mysterious murder of 28-year-old engineer Priyam Bharti Shrivastava are looking for answers from his colleagues to two main questions - firstly, why did they call him to a different place (Belapur bus stand), when they knew he was coming by cab, rather than asking him to come directly to the restaurant they were having his birthday lunch at, and secondly, with whom was he talking on the phone while entering the restaurant and did he mention anything about his ill health to that person.

Shrivastava collapsed in Rainforest Resto-bar in CBD Belapur on February 14, a day after his birthday, and was declared dead at Apollo Hospital a few hours later. His flatmates-cum-colleagues - Abhishek Sharma, Badri Yadav, Mayank Chaudhari and Bappan Mukherjee - were with him when the incident took place. The four have been booked for murder.

Cops plan to call the four for questioning and present each of them with a questionnaire to get clarity on the sequence of events that day.

Priyam Shrivastava

Not adding up
"There are some points that clearly raise suspicion over the death. On the afternoon of February 14, the four called him to a restaurant in Belapur, but instead of letting him come there directly, they asked him to get down at Belapur bus stand. What happened during this exchange of vehicles is what we want to know," said an officer involved in the investigation.

Footage from CCTVs on the premises shows Shrivastava entering the restaurant with the four while talking on phone. "He looks normal in the footage. We want to check the call records to find out who was he speaking to and if he made any mention to that person about not feeling well then," said another officer. Waiters at the restaurant had told the police that Shrivastava had appeared pale when he came in and gradually fell ill there.

Digging deep
Investigators are also wondering why he spent over two hours at the restaurant if he wasn't feeling well, and why none of the four bothered to take him to a hospital earlier.

"Their statements are monotonous - Priyam suddenly fell ill and collapsed; when we tried to lift him up, he fell again and lost consciousness," said an officer.

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