A 33-year-old bar owner was found dead with a gunshot injury on the head on Wednesday night inside his bar in a mall in north-west Delhi’s Shalimar Bagh.
He either shot himself ‘accidentally’ or committed suicide, the police said but his family suspects foul play. A case under Arms Act has been registered, the police added.
Nasir Khan, from Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat and a resident of Wazirpur Industrial Area, was partying with his friends Sandeep, Shekhar and Deepak around 11.30 p.m. at his bar, Onn Bar and Lounge, in District Centre Mall when the incident happened.
The CCTV footage examined from the spot shows Mr. Khan taking out the pistol from his pocket and putting it on his head before the gun went off, the police said adding that his friends are absconding with the pistol.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-West) Aslam Khan said an eyewitness told the the police that Mr. Khan “took out the pistol while partying, placed it close to his head and accidentally shot himself”.
She said that CCTV footage from the bar corroborated the claim.
A senior police officer investigating the case claims, “I have seen the footage. He first takes out the pistol and then all of them hold it one by one. After this he puts it on his right temple. The friend sitting next to him can be seen gesturing him to stop but then the gun goes off,” he said adding that the three men can be seen running away from the bar.
His family, however, claimed that the footage recorded at the time of the incident “does not clearly show if he shot himself or not because of the low lights”.
Mr. Khan’s brother Sajid (26), who manages accounts at a shop in Karol Bagh, said, “It’s unclear whether he shot himself or not. I have seen 20 minutes of the footage. It shows him going to the washroom twice and coming back. He was talking to his friends normally. All this while, the gun was on the table ,” he claimed. Denying the claim, the police said that the weapon was not on the table.
Though Ms. Khan said that it’s unclear who the pistol belonged to, Mr. Khan’s family claimed that he never owned a pistol.
“He never bought or borrowed a pistol. There was no need for it,” said Mr. Sajid. The officer said that the matter will become clear once the three absconding friends are found and questioned.
The victim’s family questioned the security at the mall and inside the bar.
“How did a pistol make its way inside the bar and the mall? It was lying on the table for 20 minutes and no security official took note of it? Did no one check at the mall entry,” asked Hamad, the victim’s cousin.
A security officer at the mall who did not wish to be named claimed that weapon are not allowed inside the premises.
“We don’t know how it came inside. There’s security check at the entry points. Officials check at the lift lobbies on both levels of parking as well for those who come in cars,” he said.
A-year-old bar
Mr. Khan and three others had opened the bar a year ago before which he used to run an electrical shop in Wazirpur Industrial Area, said his family. The deceased is survived by his wife Nazma, whom he had married a year-and-half-ago, and their eight-month-old son. His wife and son live in Baghpat.
