Jaipur businessman killed over Rs 1 crore debt, accused held after friend tips off police
Harishankar Sharma, 40, was murdered Saturday by friend Sitaram Khoj over an unpaid Rs 1 crore loan.
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The 40-year-old businessman who was murdered
Jaipur: A 40-year-old building material supplier was allegedly murdered by a friend over an unpaid debt of Rs 1 crore, with the accused spending two days attempting to dispose of the body before being arrested on Monday morning, police said.
The victim, Harishankar Sharma, a resident of Vidhani in Shivdaspura, had reportedly lent Rs 1 crore to his friend Sitaram Khoj for building material and related purchases. Despite repeated demands, Khoj had not returned the money, instead proposing to settle the debt through a plot deal.
According to Shivdaspura SHO Rajendra Prasad, both men met at Khoj’s yard on Saturday evening around 7 PM and had tea together. The meeting turned violent when the money dispute escalated into a fight. During the altercation, Sharma allegedly bit Khoj’s finger, following which Khoj kicked him in the groin. Sharma fell unconscious, his head struck the door frame, and he died on the spot from a head injury, the SHO said.
Khoj allegedly hid the body under a pile of fodder at his premises and spent Sunday night attempting to dispose of it, but was unable to do so and returned home. Early Monday morning, he borrowed a car from an acquaintance, stuffed the body into sacks tied with rope, and drove towards a drain near Bombay Hospital around 6:30 AM. He called a friend for assistance, but when that friend discovered the body in the car, he alerted the police. Khoj fled the scene but was taken into custody shortly thereafter.
Sharma’s family had filed a missing person complaint at Shivdaspura police station on Sunday afternoon after he failed to return home Saturday evening and his phone went switched off around 7 PM. On Monday morning, relatives were called to Mahatma Gandhi Hospital where they learnt of the murder. “My brother had lent Rs 1 crore to Sitaram Khoj for building material and other goods. Khoj had been putting off repayment for a long time,” said Sharma’s brother Prahlad Sharma. The body bore serious injury marks and had been found tied in sacks inside the car, which was parked approximately 100 metres from the victim’s home.
Chaksu ACP Bhawani Singh confirmed that a case has been registered and investigation is underway.
