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Delhi man used two countrymade pistols to kill wife’s friend in Manali
The Delhi resident who shot himself dead after killing his wife’s friend at a hotel near Manali on Friday had used two countrymade pistols to commit the crime after the first developed a snag
: The 32-year-old Delhi resident who shot himself dead after killing his wife’s friend at a hotel near Manali on Friday had used two country-made pistols to commit the crime after the first developed a snag, police said on Saturday.
Rishab Saxena, a chartered accountant, shot dead his wife Ravleen Kaur Chawla’s friend Sunny Sherawat from Delhi’s Najafgarh area at Hotel Himalayan Oak in Shuru village, 7km from Manali, before turning the gun on himself early on Friday morning. Ravleen, 30, is undergoing treatment at the civil hospital in Manali as her husband had allegedly shot her in the arm besides assaulting her.
“Saxena first shot from a country-made pistol but it developed a snag so he used another. Three bullet casings were recovered from the hotel’s room number 102,” superintendent of police Gurudev Sharma said, adding the accused had arrived in Manali a day before the crime.
Saxena ran an accountancy firm at Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh, the police said, adding that his body had been sent to Dr Lal Bahadur Shastri Medical College at Nerchowk in Mandi for autopsy.
“Call records show that Saxena had not visited Manali for the past six months though he was in regular touch with Ravleen,” the SP said. Besides the statement of his wife, the police have recorded the statements of the hotel manager and other staff.
“Saxena had an altercation with his wife as soon as she opened the door. Hotel staff said the two argued in the corridor before entering the room again,” he said, adding that the statements of family members of Saxena and Sherawat were being recorded.
The hotel staff informed the police about the firing at 6am. The room was locked from the inside. Police entered the room from the balcony, where they found the bodies of the two men, one of whom was naked. The woman was lying injured.
Hotel Himalayan Oak was taken on lease by Ravleen and her sister Ashneet Kaur, 24, six months ago. They had invited their friend Sherawat for dinner on Thursday night and he stayed back at their hotel.
Sherawat had also taken a hotel on lease at Prini village near Manali.
“In the CCTV footage from cameras installed on the property, the accused is seen entering the hotel around 4am with a pistol in hand. He is seen checking rooms one by one and later entering room number 102,” the SP said.
An argument ensued when he found Ravleen and Sherawat together and shot at them.
