Death of Asian man in Dublin cafe is treated as suspicious

The assistant chief State pathologist was called last night to the scene of the suspected murder of an Asian man at a cafe in Dublin's north inner city.

Dr Marie Cassidy arrived shortly before 7 p.m. at the premises on Upper Dorset Street where the body of the victim, believed to be his late 50s, lay.

A second man, also Asian and middle-aged, was being treated for throat wounds at the city's Mater Hospital.

Police are expected to name the two today.

The remains of the victim were removed by hearse to the city morgue, but gardai cordoned off the restaurant, Dave's Cafe, while the investigation continued. A group of Sikhs removed their shoes and prayed at the scene as the body was removed.

A spokesman for the Garda Press Office said the death was suspicious, but the case had not yet become a murder investigation.

The inquiry is being led by detectives from Fitzgibbon Street station.

A local businessman, Mr Gerard Hanley, said he found the body after a relative of the dead man told him he was afraid to go into the premises.

The victim had had his throat cut, he said.

Local residents said the cafe was owned by an Indian man, known as Mr David Gill, who had lived in the area for many years.

He was also said to own eight flats in the same building, at 67 Upper Dorset Street.

A tenant in the flat above the cafe, Ms Gwen Childs, said the premises usually opened in the evenings, until midnight or 1 a.m.

She heard the shutters below open at 10 a.m. yesterday, around the time Mr Gill normally arrived.

She heard nothing unusual before leaving at about 1.30 p.m. When she returned home at teatime, gardai were at the scene.