Businessman shot dead by kin

CHENNAI: The uncertainty prevailing over the circumstances surrounding the death of a businessman at a guesthouse in Sowcarpet, has now cleared. The police on Tuesday categorically stated that he was shot and fatally wounded by a relative after a tiff over money.After a gunshot rang out from Sri Sath Swaroop Trust-run choultry on Perumal Mudali Street on Monday night, an alert watchman caught a fleeing youth and alerted cops. In one of the rooms, the police found a middle-aged man lying in a reclined position on the cot, shot through the right temple. Inquiry showed that he was Sudhir Kumar Sharma (50), a businessman and resident of Venkatesan Street, and the youth, his wife’s nephew Ashish Sharma (22). Dispatching the body to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, the cops recovered a .32 pistol from the room and picked up Ashish for interrogation.The case became complicated after Ashish allegedly protested his innocence and claimed that his uncle had committed suicide. Joint Commissioner (North) Senthamarai Kannan, the investigating officer, registered a case under Section 174 (suspicious death). After nearly four hours of grilling, Ashish spilled the beans.Tracing the sequence of events, Kannan told Express that the duo had gone out for a drink and returned around 10.30 pm to the guesthouse. A quarrel erupted, when Ashish demanded about `5 lakh from his uncle for business purposes. The youth, of Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, sold costume jewellery and had already borrowed `2 lakh from him. “Since his business was unstable and he was nearly bankrupt, Ashish was badly in need of money,” the JCP said.  He came here on July 7 and the two had even gone to Tirupati for some business. On Monday night, Sudhir was drunk and did not oblige his wife’s relative. “He appears to have used abusive language against him and his parents and also pulled him up for not repaying his earlier debts,” the officer said.  In a fit of drunken rage, Ashish shot his uncle at point-blank range, killing him on the spot. Investigation showed that the pistol was of .32 calibre and from the Indian Ordinance Factory. “He has a licence for it, but we are probing whether its use was restricted to within the State,” the JCP said. Ashish initially claimed that he was in the bathroom, when his uncle shot himself. Based on his confession supported by forensic, circumstantial proof, the case was altered to Sec 302 (murder) and Ashish was arrested.