Bengaluru pub mystery: Young bank manager found dead in ladies' washroom

Representative image of a pub

A 31-year-old bank manager was found dead under mysterious circumstances inside a pub in Rajarajeshwarinagar, West Bengaluru, in the early hours of Friday, sending local police scrambling to determine the cause of the tragedy.

The deceased has been identified as Megharaj, also known as Meghanand, a resident of Ullal Main Road and a native of Maddur in Mandya district. According to a TOI report, he was working as a manager at Jana Small Finance Bank and is survived by his wife and a six-month-old child.

The incident unfolded after Megharaj visited the ‘1522 Pub’ with three friends on Thursday night. The group reportedly partied at the venue, where Megharaj consumed beer and later had dinner. The evening took a grim turn after the pub stopped serving around midnight and the group settled their bill.

As they were leaving the premises around 12.45 am, Megharaj suddenly felt nauseous, informed his friends and hurried towards the washroom. Possibly due to confusion or because the gents’ facility was occupied, he entered the ladies’ washroom and latched the door from inside.

His friends, who had stepped outside, waited for him before growing concerned and returning to look for him. After failing to locate him on the pub floor, they alerted the management. A check of the establishment's CCTV footage revealed that Megharaj had entered the ladies’ washroom.

The pub staff were forced to break open the latched door, where they discovered the young man unconscious inside. He was immediately rushed to a nearby private hospital, but doctors declared him brought dead.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) S Girish confirmed that a Scene of Crime Officers (SOCO) team had visited the spot for investigation. “The body has been sent for post-mortem and viscera samples have been collected for forensic analysis,” DCP Girish was cited by TOI as saying. “The FSL report will reveal the exact cause of death.”

Based on a complaint filed by the victim’s brother, Vinay, the Rajarajeshwarinagar police have registered a case of unnatural death.