MUMBAI: The Mira Bhayander–Vasai Virar (MBVV) police on Monday arrested a 37-year-old man from Varanasi for allegedly killing his employer, a 40-year-old interior designer and labour contractor in Nalasopara, on August 23. Preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused, identified as Samirkumar Bind, slit the throat and robbed his employer, Pramodkumar Bind, to settle his gambling debts, said police.

According to the police, Pramodkumar Bind, originally from Varanasi, had been working in Nalasopara as an interior decorator and labour contractor for over a decade. On August 23, he received a call from Samirkumar Bind, who had worked under him a few years ago. Sameer told the labour contractor that he was arriving in Mumbai from Surat in search of work and requested him for shelter as he did not have any place to go.

“Since Pramodkumar’s family was away in Varanasi, he told Sameer to stay at his home until he found a place to stay,” said an officer from the MBVV police crime branch.

On August 24, when Pramodkumar did not answer his phone, his wife in Varanasi got worried and asked her brother-in-law Deepnarayan Bind, who lives in Virar, to check on him. Deepnarayan visited his brother’s house on the ground floor house in Joginder Yadav chawl at around 9.40am that day. When the Pramod did not answer the door, he peeped through the window and saw his brother lying in a pool of blood.

“I immediately broke open the door, went inside and noticed that his throat was slit and the safe was empty,” said Deepnarayan, who subsequently informed the police, based on which a murder case was registered against unidentified assailant/s.

When police checked the call data records of Pramodkumar, they found that the last call to him was made by Samir. But Samir’s phone was switched off, which made him the prime suspect. The police then got the call data records of Samir’s phone and found that both he and Pramod were in touch with a number in Mumbai. The man whom the number belonged to then told the police that he had received a call from Samir, saying he was headed to Varanasi.

On Monday, the crime branch in association with the Uttar Pradesh police and STF arrested Samir from Varanasi and brought him to Mumbai, following which he confessed to killing Pramodkumar.

“He told us that he was addicted to gambling and had mortgaged his father’s two-wheeler for ₹25,000. But he had lost the entire amount in gambling after which he was disowned by his family,” said a police officer. Samir subsequently worked at several places in Surat, but would always ask for his salary before the end of the first month and spend the entire amount on gambling, which would lead to him being fired, the officer added.

“Since he had nowhere to go, he decided to come to Nalasopara to his previous employer,” said the officer. On August 23, after he and Pramodkumar had dinner at home, he saw the latter keeping cash in the safe. After Pramodkumar slept, he picked up a knife from the kitchen and slit his throat before fleeing with the cash, said police.

The accused will be produced in court on Wednesday.