A 57-year-old government contractor allegedly shot himself with his licensed pistol at his home in Model Town, Chhaju Majra, Kharar, on Sunday, police said.
The man was at home alone when the incident occurred. When he reached home, he found his son lying beside the bed with a gunshot wound, blood around him. A suicide note was also found at the house. The man’s children live abroad. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding his death.
His father, a 73-year-old retired registrar, had gone to CP Mall with one of his granddaughters. The family then called the police emergency helpline 112. A 75-year-old retired excise and taxation officer (ETO) died by suicide after setting himself on fire at his second-floor residence in Phase 11, Mohali, police said.
The father told police that his son had remained distressed after his wife’s death and had stopped taking government contracts. He set himself on fire in a room opposite the one where he usually slept, police said. The incident came to light around 1pm on Sunday, when the deceased’s daughter called her grandfather and told him that her father had suffered a gunshot injury after she reached home.
His youngest daughter is three years old. The man had been living with his father and five daughters following his wife’s death in 2025, according to the family.
