The case of depraved Vinayak Shanbhag.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: A 33 year-old Floridian desi is now being held by the police after apparently bludgeoning his 66 year-old father with a sledgehammer, and is now facing a charge of attempted first-degree murder.
Vinayak Shanbhag was “playing puzzles” with his father, Pandurang Shanbhag, last Friday evening. At some point during the game, Pandurang made a comment that upset Vinayak. According to investigators, the comment – which has not been made public – kept Vinayak up all night, and ultimately led him to beat his own father.
Around 6:00 AM Saturday morning, 60 year-old Rukma Shanbhag, Vinayak’s mother, heard her husband coughing but thought nothing of it, as he had a cold at that time. She and Pandurang sleep in separate rooms due to her arthritic condition, which requires that she have her own bed. Later that morning, however, she went into her husband’s room and found the entire place covered with blood, while her husband was vomiting blood.
Vinayak came into the room and told his mother simply “I did it,” at which point she called police. Vinayak told law enforcement that he went to this father’s bedroom and beat him while he was still asleep. Police told local press that there were multiple pools of blood all over the room, and there was even blood in the passenger seat of Vinayak’s car, as well as one of the front head light.
Reports indicate that Vinayak did not fight arrest; when police arrived, he was sitting on a couch with Rukma, and gave himself over without incident. Vinayak told police that he remembers waking up, getting the sledgehammer, walking into his father’s bedroom, and beating him with it.
Pandurang Shanbhag is a Professor of Chemistry in the School of Science, Engineering, & Math and Bethune-Cookman University, in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Vinayak also told police that he has a history of violence with members of his family, but this is apparently the first time police have ever been called to their house on Unabelle Ave. in Holly Hill, Florida. He is currently being held at the Volusia County Jail on $50,000 bond.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com