Rohtak to Delhi, trail of blood: Four dead

The immediate motive for the triple murder — which took place in a span of an hour last evening — police officials say was a financial dispute between Raman and five other partners in the firm Rohtak Agro Farms. It dates back to October last year, soon after Katyal’s brother, Suresh, died in a road accident in August 2002 in Sanpla, Haryana.

Superintendent of Police, Rohtak, Alok Kumar Roy said, ‘‘It seems like Raman was angry with the other partners. There seems to have been a dispute over sharing of profits. While the five partners claimed the amount was about Rs 7 lakhs, Raman claimed it was about Rs 10 lakhs.’’

But the families of the deceased think differently. Anil Manchanda, Sunil Manchanda’s nephew, claims, ‘‘Right after the accident, the remaining partners, including my uncle Sunil, Anupam Narula, Suresh Magu (who was himself injured in the accident), Anand Dua and Anil Malik, decided to give some shares and money to Suresh Katyal’s wife. But, Raman, Katyal’s elder brother, wanted the money and be a partner in the business.’’ But just 10 days back he had apparently appeared to have reconciled to the decision.

Something made him change his mind and last evening he allegedly went to Alpha Surgical factory situated in the industrial area, on the Rohtak-Hissar road, in his Santro car.

According to the police statement of guard Ram Asra, Raman entered the factory around 6.15 pm. ‘‘He would often come to the factory and demand money from Sunil Manchanda and Anupam Narula,’’ and this often led to fights,’’ he told the police.

‘‘(Yesterday) he went directly to the office. Soon after, I heard him shouting. I went in and heard him saying ‘Settle my accounts’. He then took out his revolver and shot Narula in chest, head and hand. When Manchanda started running, he was shot in chest, neck and leg.’’

A scared Ram Asra emerged from hiding when Raman left and informed Narula’s family who took both men to PGI hospital where they were declared brought dead.

Meanwhile, a few kilometres away, the third partner, Suresh Magu, had got into his Tata Indica with his wife and two children. As he reversed his car, Raman reportedly drew up next to him.

‘‘My uncle rolled down the windows and asked Raman how he was. Raman shot him twice in the head,’’ Jatin, the deceased’s nephew, says.

Even as the Rohtak police sent out teams in search for Raman Katyal, they suspected he had gone to Delhi where the two other partners, Anand Dua and Anil Malik, stayed.

SP Roy says, ‘‘I received a phone call at around 11.30 am this morning. The anonymous caller gave the police a phone number (Hotel Marina’s) and claimed Raman was staying there. We immediately despatched a team to Delhi. About an hour later, we received another call. This time, the caller said there was a body lying in a Santro car. None of these calls came from Delhi Police. We suspect, it could have been Raman himself.’’

The death of Katyal was confirmed around 4 pm when Delhi Police informed the Rohtak police that the licence plates as well as the identity card matched that of Raman.

‘‘Even the revolver he used to kill himself was the same with which he had murdered the three industrialists. It was a .32 calibre revolver made at the Kanpur Ordnance factory. This confirmed that the body could have been that of Katyal,’’ Roy added.

Raman reportedly left behind two suicide notes — written in English and Hindi. While allegedly admitting to the murders in one of the notes, Raman had in the other held a relative responsible for provoking him to commit the crimes.