Popular Chef Identified As Fremont Homicide Victim
FREMONT (CBS SF) -- Dominic Sarkar honed his culinary talents with stops at high-end restaurants in New Delhi, Dubai, Philadelphia and Orlando before heading to the Bay Area.
On Monday, Fremont police said the 56-year-old Passage to India Restaurant chef was found dead in a bedroom inside a home -- the victim of a homicide.
Fremont police Lt. Mike Tegner said officers were sent to the home after a neighbor called 911 and reported gunshots at 12:24 a.m.
"We talked to the witness, or the reporting party, and he said that he saw a male leaving the general area of the front door of the residence and get on to a bicycle and pedal away," explained Tegner.
Sarkar rented a room towards the rear the home which he shared with another family. Members of that family were asleep at the time of the shooting and didn't see the suspect arrive or leave from the home, according to Tegner.
Officers set up a large perimeter in the neighborhood to try to find the suspect, but broke down the search perimeter around 7:30 a.m. after not finding the suspect.
Sarkar had big plans the day he was murdered. The 56-year-old chef was well-known and well-liked in the Indian food industry. He had worked for Sushma Taneta, the owner of Passage to India, on and off for nearly a decade.
"He was really very kindhearted, very nice person and very lovable," said Taneta.
Taneta last saw Sarkar Sunday when he came to say goodbye before taking a big trip to new delhi india to see his family, including his three daughters. He gave her a handwritten menu in preparation for Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.
"I wished him have a safe journey and he said ,'No, ma'am. Don't wish me now. I will call you from the airport,'" Taneta remembered.
But the call never came.
Taneta believes Sarkar had no enemies.
"It's really shocking to us that it happened," said Taneta. "Everybody's surprised."
Tegner said investigators believe the slaying was "not random. We didn't see any forced entry into the residence."
Anyone with information on the case was asked to call Fremont police at (510) 790-6800.
