Ballarat restaurant murder
The restaurant community in the central Victorian town of Ballarat is reeling from the news about a murder in one of its restaurants.
The case has seen a 49-year-old man charged with the alleged murder of a 30 year-old man.
Hari Prasad Dhakal appeared in Ballarat Magistrates Court yesterday morning after the body was found at the Ballarat Curry House in Bridge Mall about 8.30pm Tuesday.
The victim has not yet been formally identified and details of the murder were not revealed in court. Police told the court more work had to be done to confirm the victim's identity.
The court was told Mr Dhakal, who is Nepalese, had never been in custody before. With no family in Ballarat, there was no application for bail and he was remanded in custody to reappear in court for a committal mention on March 16.
It was later revealed there was an altercation in the restaurant involving staff and the customer who died.
At this stage, police say there is no motive for the killing. While they would not identify what type of weapon was used, they have said it is an instrument found in any kitchen.
Cedric Fernando, the store manager of the Nandos restaurant three doors down, said he had been working that night.
“Around quarter past seven, or 7.30pm, we started seeing more and more police cars around our area, outside the restaurant. I saw police officers speaking to members of the public, so I just guessed that something bad had happened up there,” Mr Fernando told the Ballarat Courier.
“When I left the restaurant about quarter past ten, outside the (Ballarat Curry House) there was a police sign and it was sealed off, and police officers were there.
“I turned up for work this morning. I asked one of our neighbours next door and he said someone was dead in the Indian restaurant last night, but how it happened he didn’t know.”
by Leon Gettler, October 27th 2016
