The Person

Outside Pramod Mahajan’s Office in New Delhi hangs a small billboard: Friends are welcome, relatives take appointment.

When Pravin Mahajan pumped three bullets into his elder brother the billboard acquired a surreal touch. Born on October 30, 1949, in Mahboobnagar in Andhra Pradesh, Pramod was the eldest child of Venkatesh Mahajan, a school teacher. He had four siblings.

When Pramod was twenty one his father passed away, leaving the responsibility of bringing up the family on his shoulders.

Not only did Pramod complete his education, but he took care of his siblings too. He held a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and a Master’s in political science. Married to Rekha, Pramod Mahajan had two children, Rahul and Poornima.

Pramod was a devoted husband and father, though he was once controversially linked with slain journalist Shivani Bhatnagar. He had said at that time he was ready to undergo investigation by any agency.

Pramod was a self-confessed agnostic. “Like any good student of science, I neither believe or disbelieve in what people call God. I don’t deny his existence. For me, god is a belief that other people around me have,” he once told in an interview.

Pramod, over the last couple of years, turned into a fitness freak. A known gizmo freak, he was one of the few people in the country to use an Iridium satellite phone. He also had a fondness for the latest laptops, his favourite being a Sony. “When I need to unwind, I read a book, listen to music, or simply visit my personal gym,” he had said.