Battling losses, trader kills himself

Close on the heels of a woman committing suicide after killing her daughter on Monday, a 53-year-old businessman shot himself with his licensed .32 bore pistol at his Greater Kailash (GK) Part-II residence, on Wednesday morning.

Close on the heels of a woman committing suicide after killing her daughter on Monday, a 53-year-old businessman shot himself with his licensed .32 bore pistol at his Greater Kailash (GK) Part-II residence, on Wednesday morning.

HT Image

According to the police, the incident took place around 8am. The deceased has been identified as Kulbir Singh Punihani, who traded in manufacturing and export of leather items from his Okhla office.

He also owned a four-star hotel in Gurgaon. Police sources said Punihani had suffered losses in his business and was
under debt.

Police have recovered a suicide note from the possession of the victim, in which he wrote that he had been disturbed
and depressed for the past few months.

In the letter, the police said, Punihani had mentioned that he was taking the extreme step on his own and that no one from his family should be held responsible for it.

“Punihani wrote that the past couple of days, he had spent sleepless nights,” said a police officer.

According to a senior police officer, the incident came to their notice around 8.40am through a PCR call made by one of the family members.

A police team reached the spot and learnt that Punihani had shot himself in the bathroom. “The pistol used by him was lying near his body. He was taken to AIIMS, where he was declared brought dead,” said the senior official.

He is survived by his wife and three daughters.

Punihani's eldest daughter is settled in London.