Police recovered a pistol suspected to have been used in the murder of Singapore-based executive Paramjith Dhankhar, 43, from Punjab’s Patiala district on Monday night and are investigating whether the accused possessed a third firearm that was not registered against his arms licence, officials said.
Two more magazines, which police suspect Sharma emptied while firing at Dhankhar, were also recovered from the crime scene. However, investigators were yet to establish how he came to possess a second pistol, which was not recorded in the licence database. Later that evening, Sharma allegedly called Dhankhar downstairs on the pretext of moving his car and opened fire when he arrived with his son Shaurya. Shaurya escaped by taking cover behind a vehicle.
Police said the pistol recovered from Samana, 15 spent cartridges found at the crime scene and bullets retrieved from Dhankhar’s body during the autopsy would be sent for forensic examination and ballistic matching. Police said Sharma was issued an arms licence in December 2023, against which a pistol and a 12-bore gun were registered.
A senior Faridabad police officer said Sharma had disclosed during questioning that the pistol recovered from the crime scene was not the weapon used to kill Dhankhar. Police said at least nine bullets struck Dhankhar, killing him on the spot. Yashpal Yadav, public relations officer of Faridabad police, said Sharma was remanded in police custody for two days after being produced before a court on Sunday.
“After allegedly killing the victim, Sharma had fled in his car to Patiala. He disposed of the murder weapon and returned to Faridabad, where he was finally arrested from Dealer Chowk in Ballabgarh on Saturday,” the officer said.
