The deceased Fairoz is a resident of Thimmaiah Road in Shivajinagar and the accused Lal (28), Sahel (35) and Babu are his neighbours. After working in Dubai for nearly a decade Fairoz had returned to Bangalore for good and from 2003, he was running a tea stall in R T Nagar.

On Tuesday, after an altercation Lal reportedly spat on Fairoz’s face when he was about to leave for the shop. An irked Fairoz’s mother, Dilshad Begum, raised objections and took Lal to task. In turn, Lal threatened Fairoz of dire consequences, Police said.

However, Fairoz kept his head cool and set out for work but when he returned for lunch at 3:30 pm and was parking his two-wheeler, the accused attacked him with iron rods and beat him to death, while Sahel and Babu took to their heels. Lal went inside his house and locked himself but managed to escape before police visited the spot. Fairoz’s relatives rushed the victim to a nearby hospital, but doctors declared him dead on arrival.

Fairoz’s relative Nissar Ahmad told Deccan Herald  that Fairoz had a one-and-half year old daughter, and his wife Shameen was carrying. Lal is a electrical contractor and had some enmity with Dilshad Begum for the past five years. He would threaten her that he would murder one of her family members, the police said.