Businessman shoots self, cops point to financial losses

Officers said Ashish Lal Khatri was reportedly neck deep in debt and was upset over losses in his hotel business. “When he was alone in his room this morning, he shot himself from point-blank range with an unlicenced pistol. He died on the spot,” a senior officer said.

“As his family members heard the gunshot, they broke into the room and found him lying in a pool of blood on the floor,” said the officer.

The incident was reported around 9 am. The police took Khatri to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

Investigations revealed that he ran five hotels, including one in Vrindavan. “One of his hotels is under construction in Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. He had taken big loans from people,” said the officer.

With no suicide note being recovered from the house, the police said the exact reason behind the extreme step taken by Khatri was not clear yet.

“No suicide note has been recovered, so we don’t know if anyone was bothering him or threatening him. We are probing the matter,” said the senior officer.

The police said they had confiscated the unlicenced, Chinese-make pistol used in the suicide. “We are trying to verify from where he got the weapon, as he didn’t have an arms licence,” said an investigating officer.

Khatri lived with his wife and their son. The police said he was also into the real estate business.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) Atul Katiyar said: “We have registered a case under the Arms Act and are waiting for the postmortem report.”

When asked if they suspected any foul play, Katiyar said: “From initial investigations, no foul play is suspected. An inquiry, however, is being carried out.”

The police said they were also waiting for a statement by the victim’s family, who were not in a position to talk about the incident at this moment.