Pravin Mahajan, who shot at his elder brother and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pramod Mahajan on Saturday morning told the police that he fired at him in a "fit of rage" as he "ill-treated" him.
MUMBAI: Pravin Mahajan, who shot at his elder brother and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pramod Mahajan on Saturday morning told the police that he fired at him in a "fit of rage" as he "ill-treated" him.
Repentant though of his action, Pravin alleged that Pramod Mahajan treated him and his family "like dirt" and often inflicted insult on them in public.
"I have been seeking appointment of Pramod for the last 15 days but in vain... I, therefore, decided to visit him early in the morning to accost him for his behaviour," Pravin said in a statement recorded by Worli police soon after he surrendered.
Pravin claimed that he was "ill-treated" by his eldest brother in public and he never assisted him financially and kept him away from family functions.
"Life as the brother of a prominent personality became a curse to me... I am a poor brother of a rich man," Pravin said in his statement, sources said.
They said Pravin appeared a deeply frustrated man inflicted by an inferiority complex and that could have prompted him to make an attempt on the life of the BJP leader.
Mumbai Police Commissioner A N Roy refused to go in to the details of Pravin's statement and the reasons behind the attack.
"The attack does not seem to be an outcome of any immediate, grave and sudden provocation," he said.
According to Pravin, Pramod ignored his presence in public and at family gatherings.
"I was humiliated by him on several occasions and the matter became so much public that even his personal assistants insulted me and refused to give an appointment to meet him," Pravin, a contractor, said.
Fed up with the constant insults, 45-year-old Pravin, youngest of the three Mahajan brothers, said he decided to meet Mahajan early in the morning so that he would not get a chance of claiming to be busy due to pre-decided engagements.
"Even when I reached his house this morning, he was reading newspapers and refused to acknowledge my presence in the house. Vahini (Pramod Mahajan's wife) in fact offered me a cup of tea, but dada (Pramod) refused to talk," Pravin told the police.
Pravin claimed that it was that time that his builtup anger burst and he shot his brother thrice, before leaving the place and surrendering himself to Worli police.
Mumbai police officials are taking the theory of sudden provocation by Pravin with a pinch of salt and feel it was pre-mediated attack.
Senior police officials said if the attack would have occurred in a fit of rage, the person would have fled due to fear of getting caught by police. Instead, Pravin calmly surrendered with weapon, knowing well what he had done, they said.
Police said they would record statements of Pravin's close friends and relatives to cross check his statement.
Pravin was taken to a government hospital in the afternoon for a routine post-arrest medical examination.
He will be produced in court on Sunday.
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