Bengaluru techie kills manager with dumbbell in office after tiff over lights

Accused Somala Vamshi, 24, and deceased Bheemesh Babu, 41. (Image credit: X)

An argument between two colleagues over switching off lights at their workplace ended in a gruesome murder in west Bengaluru.

The incident occurred at a digital vault and photo-editing firm near MC Layout in Govindarajnagar in the early hours of Saturday (November 1).  According to a report by The Times of India, a 41-year-old employee at the firm was bludgeoned to death with a dumbbell by one of his colleagues.

The accused, identified as Somala Vamshi, 24, a technical executive from Andhra Pradesh, was arrested after he surrendered at Govindarajanagar police station. He was residing in Nayandahalli.

The victim, Bheemesh Babu, hailed from Chitradurga and was a manager at the firm, the report added.

The victim was sensitive to bright lights and would often ask his colleague to turn them off when they weren’t needed. On the night of the incident, around 1 am, Vamshi, who was still editing videos, became irritated after Babu once again asked him to switch off the lights, the newspaper reported.

Following this, a verbal spat between the two quickly escalated and in a fit of rage, Vamshi allegedly hurled chilli powder at Babu, picked up an iron dumbbell, and repeatedly struck him on the head, face and chest with it.

As Babu collapsed, Vamshi panicked and rushed out to meet his colleague, Gowri Prasad, in Nayandahalli. Prasad then sought help from one of his friends.

Soon after, all three returned to the office. Finding Babu lying motionless, Prasad and his friend called an ambulance. The medical staff examined Babu and declared him dead. A case of murder has been registered, and an investigation is underway, the report added.

Deputy Commissioner (West) Girish S confirmed that an argument over keeping the office lights on triggered the incident.