Doctor shot dead in his clinic

A 61-year-old allopathic doctor was shot dead at his clinic in South-West Delhi’s Palam area by three unidentified men on Friday night.

The deceased, Balwan Singh Ranawat, was set to leave for his home to attend to his ailing grandson when he was killed. His family, waiting for him to bring the medicines, instead received the news of his death.

Mr. Ranawat has been running a small clinic in Palam for the past three decades. The police said they still needed to receive his degree certificates to ascertain if he was a certified medical practitioner or a quack.

Even as Mr. Ranawat was preparing to leave for home around 9.30 p.m., three men arrived on a scooter and entered his clinic, possibly on the pretext of requiring immediate medical attention.

One of them then pulled down the shutters of his clinic while another fired two rounds at him.

Police clueless

A sleepy neighbour who rushed out on hearing the sound of the gunshots told the police he remembered seeing three men flee.

Locals rushed to the victim’s aid and shifted him to a nearby hospital even as the police were informed. The police said that Ranawat died either on the spot or on the way to the hospital.

A murder case has been registered at the Palam police station and the matter is being investigated.

Until late Saturday, the police said they were clueless about the identity of the killers.

Since the victim also dealt in property, the police are also looking at the possibility of the murder being over some property-related dispute.