Suicide or murder? 31-year-old’s death in Mumbai leaves cops puzzled

Cops recovered two used cartridges and one live cartridge at the scene of the crime. The presence of the two used rounds has led the police to think it may be a case of murder.

Ketan Dattaram Patil, 31, a resident of Sion Koliwada, was found dead near his residence on Friday.

Ketan Dattaram Patil, 31, a resident of Sion Koliwada, was found dead near his residence on Friday. (Representational photo)

The Sion police suspected it to be a suicide case and said he may have shot himself with a pistol. While the police have registered a case of accidental death, they are also investigating if Ketan was murdered.

According to the police, the victim’s brother, Mohnish Dattaram Patil, called the control room around 1.30am on Friday, informing them that the victim was found lying in a pool of blood.

“A local, who was going to the public toilet found Patil’s body lying three huts away from his residence, and then informed the family members. After Monish’s call, the police reached the spot and found that Ketan had been shot in the temple and a country pistol was lying next to him,” said a police official.

Police officials recovered two used cartridges and one live round from the spot.

“If he had shot one round, how can we get two used rounds at the spot. This is what we are probing,” said N Ambika, deputy commissioner of police, Zone 4.

“We have collected the evidence from the spot and will send it to the forensic lab on Saturday for further leads.”

She added that the pistol had not been legally registered.Ketan resided with his parents and younger brother. His family runs paan shop in the locality.

“During investigations, we found that on the day of the incident, Ketan had thrown a party for all his locality friends. They had drinks together. We have taken the statements of all those who were present at Ketan’s residence that day,” said a police officer.