Pravin to be produced in court on Sunday

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pramod Mahajan's estranged younger brother Pravin Mahajan would be produced in a court on Sunday for shooting at the veteran leader on Saturday.

Pravin Mahajan, the youngest of the three brothers, was taken for a medical check up to the government-run JJ Hospital hours after he shot at Pramod Mahajan from close range in an attack whose cause remained a mystery.

After the shooting, Pravin Mahajan, 47, walked up to the Worli police station and surrendered.

Police officials put the builder under arrest, seized his revolver and said he would be kept in a police lock-up for the night.

A resident of neighbouring Thane district, Pravin Mahajan is married and has two teenaged children.

His shocked neighbours described him as an affable family man with no criminal background.

In his statement to the police after surrendering, Pravin Mahajan said he was not treated well by his "high-profile" brother. He alleged he was often humiliated by Pramod Mahajan.

Police initially said a property dispute lay behind the attempted murder. This was contested by another Mahajan brother, Prakash.

"We have no property, so where is the question of dispute? Whatever people are saying is completely wrong. If there was some dispute, I would have known it myself," Prakash told TV channels over phone from his Aurangabad residence.

Pravin Mahajan's lawyer said his client was suffering from some mental disorder for the last few months and that the relation between the two brothers had been cordial.

"He is a mentally ill person...he is an innocent person. He is not in a condition to say anything properly. Pramod Mahajan is a father figure to him," said Nandkumar Rajurkar.

First Published: Apr 22, 2006 20:08 IST