Surprise in Bengaluru: 41-year-old manager killed by dumbbells in office over light switch dispute

A late-night argument over turning off a light turned fatal in Bengaluru when a 41-year-old manager was brutally beaten to death by his colleague inside an office in Govindarajanagar early Saturday morning.

The victim, identified as Bheemesh Babu of Chitradurga district, worked as a manager in Digital Data Bankcompany specialized in storage of films and production videos. The accused, Somala Vamshi, 24, originally from Vijayawada, worked as a technical executive in the same company.

According to police, both men lived and worked in the same rented office space, which also served as housing for employees handling nighttime projects. Around 1.30am, an argument broke out when Babu, apparently sensitive to bright lights, asked Vamshi to switch them off. The verbal dispute soon turned into violence.

In a sudden fit of rage, Vamshi allegedly threw chilli powder at Babu and then repeatedly attacked him with a dumbbell, hitting him on the head, face and chest. Babu collapsed on the spot and succumbed to serious injuries before medical help could arrive.

Alarmed co-workers rushed to the scene and called emergency services, but paramedics declared Babu dead on arrival. Reportedly overcome with panic and guilt, Vamshi sought help from his colleagues before walking to the Govindarajanagar police station, where he surrendered and confessed to the assault.

The police registered a case of murder under Section 302 of the IPC and arrested Vamshi. DCP (West) Girish S confirmed that the fight was over a disagreement over switching off the light and said: “Preliminary investigation suggests it was a sudden fight that took a violent turn.“

Investigators are looking into whether previous tensions or workplace problems could have contributed to the fatal confrontation. The body was sent for an autopsy to Victoria Hospital and further investigations are underway.