'Happy Diwali': Accused shouted after killing ex-Tech Mahindra regional head

The victim tried to escape and close the gate of the building from outside but the accused chased him out also and then again fired multiple shots at him.FARIDABAD: “Happy Diwali. I will kill the whole family today,” Mohan Sharma allegedly shouted after shooting his neighbour, former Tech Mahindra regional business head Paramjeet Dhankhar, dead in Faridabad.A woman relative tried to stop him, but Sharma continued firing on the road while hurling abuses. CCTV footage also showed him reloading his weapon with another magazine.A day before the murder, Sharma had allegedly been involved in an altercation with Dhankhar and his friends. Sharma was arrested by a Crime Branch team near DLF Chowk in Ballabhgarh the following day.A police investigation has revealed that the former senior IT executive and his friends abused Sharma, leaving him humiliated and nursing a grudge that eventually culminated in the murder on Nov 6. Sharma, a scrap dealer, was arrested within hours of the murder.A senior police officer said the hostility between the two families had escalated after Dhankar’s family lodged a complaint against Sharma with police a few days before the murder.The confrontation, later on, involving Dhankar and his friends, after he returned to India, aggravated the situation.Dhankar, who hailed from Hisar and was based in Singapore, had returned to Faridabad on Nov 5 to attend his nephew’s wedding, scheduled for Nov 24. He is survived by his wife, son, daughter and parents.The autopsy report confirmed that Dhankar sustained nine bullet injuries.The 45-year-old senior vice-president at Singapore-based FPT Software Company Ltd and former regional business head of Tech Mahindra’s Asia-Pacific operations collapsed on the road outside his house in Faridabad Sector 21C on Friday night.Sharma allegedly decided to eliminate Dhankar after he could not bear the insult. According to an officer, the accused deliberately called Dhankar downstairs on the pretext of asking him to move his car, while carrying his licensed .45 ACP pistol fitted with an extended magazine. He then opened fire, pumping 14 rounds at Dhankar and his son, nine of which struck the senior executive.The officer said, “During interrogation, Sharma revealed that he could not bear the insult and decided to shoot Dhankar. The accused had nursed a grudge against the victim after being humiliated a day before the murder. He intentionally called him downstairs with the intention of killing him.”Police have recovered the weapon used in the murder from Sharma, who remains in police custody for further interrogation. Investigators are examining the sequence of events leading to the shooting, including the altercation a day earlier and the circumstances in which the accused allegedly planned and executed the attack.On Friday night, Sharma allegedly rang the doorbell of Dhankar’s house and asked him to come downstairs to move his car. Dhankar’s son Shaurya accompanied him to the parking area. An argument broke out, following which Sharma pulled out his pistol and opened fire at close range after around four minutes’ conversation.After talking for around four minutes, the accused opened fire at him and continued to fire even after the victim fell on the ground.The victim tried to escape and close the gate of the building from outside but the accused chased him out also and then again fired multiple shots at him.He also fired at Shaurya, who managed to escape by taking cover behind parked vehicles. Dhankar collapsed at the spot and died before he could be taken to hospital. The investigation has also brought into focus the history of disputes between the two families, who lived in the same building.Their disagreements included parking issues and a dispute over Sharma’s pet dog defecating in the common parking area. Dhankar’s family had also complained about alleged abuse and damage to their house gate. Police registered a case under sections 103 (murder), 109 (attempt to murder) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of BNS.