Vijay D’Souza allegedly blamed the employee for his business failure.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: The owner of a Taste of India restaurant in northern Indiana was arrested early Tuesday morning, after an employee and co-tenant at his apartment complex said that the owner threatened to kill his infant daughter.
Vijay D’Souza was charged with misdemeanor battery by police in Porter County, Indiana, after the incident that took place in Chesterton, about an hour away from Chicago. D’Souza (51), the owner of the Taste of India restaurant in the area, was the perpetrator of the bizarre and very scary incident in which he allegedly threatened to kill a baby girl because of personal and professional problems he had with the baby’s father.
According to local reports, the child’s dad (38) – who has not been identified by any media outlets – is an employee of D’Souza at the restaurant. D’Souza apparently believes that this man is responsible, to some extent, for D’Souza having to close down the establishment, which set him back financially.
Both men live in the same apartment complex, and early Tuesday morning, the employee got a call from D’Souza, who said that his mother had died. The employee consoled D’Souza and then ended the call, but D’Souza then came to his apartment and began knocking on the door.
The man answered the door and let D’Souza in, leaving him in the main living area so he could go to the bedroom and tell his wife that D’Souza had come to their home. When he came back to the living area, however, D’Souza was storming around looking for the baby’s room, saying that he was going to kill her.
A physical altercation ensued, during which the police were called. D’Souza was held off by the baby’s father until the police arrived, at which point D’Souza was booked and taken to Porter County Jail.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports that D’Souza is still a citizen of India, and that alcohol likely played a part in his behavior. D’Souza’s Blood Alcohol Level (BAC) was twice the legal limit of 0.08; he admitted to police that he had been drinking heavily, and that he lied about his mother dying so that he could enter the apartment.
D’Souza was apparently also under the impression that other employees of his lived with this man, implying that he may have also wanted to harm them, too. The exact reason as to why D’Souza is being forced to close his Taste of India restaurant, however, has not been made public.