HYDERABAD: The partnership tussle among three city-based doctors met with a bloody end as Dr P Shashi Kumar, who is said to have opened fire at his business partner in Himayatnagar on Monday, allegedly shot himself dead at a farmhouse in Moinabad on the outskirts of the city late on Monday night.
His body was found lying in a pool of blood in the a farmhouse of his acquaintance at around 12.30 am. According to police, Shashi Kumar shot himself on his right temple with his licensed 0.32 mm revolver.
In a suicide note left behind, Dr Shashi Kumar claimed that he “did not open fire and kill” his business partner Dr Uday Kumar. Instead, he stated, the third partner Dr Sai Kumar had snatched his weapon and opened fire at Uday Kumar. “I ran away as I got scared,” he said in the note. Dr Shashi Kumar believed that Uday had died in the attack. The bullet had brushed past Uday’s ear and he is recovering in a hospital.
Meanwhile, Dr Shashi Kumar’s wife alleged that her husband was murdered while the police say there is no evidence to suggest murder.
According to the police, soon after the attack in Himayatnagar, Dr Shashi Kumar vanished from the scene and turned up at the house of his family friend, S Chandrakala, the widow of a retired Colonel, who owns the farmhouse in Moinabad. She resides in Khairtabad.
As the doctor appeared tensed and depressed, she suggested him to go to her farmhouse and relax there. It was she who drove and dropped him at the farmhouse, police said.
Chandrakala claimed ignorance about the Himayatnagar firing incident. “She said she returned to the city after dropping Shashikumar by 6.30 pm. She came to know about the incident only through news channels. By 9.30 pm, she informed Punjagutta police,” said inspector G Srinivasu of Moinabad police station.
A police party rushed to the farmhouse at Nakkalapally in Moinabad only to find the body of Shashi Kumar lying in a pool of blood. The revolver used for the suicide was found next to the body. Dr Shashi Kumar may have shot himself around 9.30 pm, police said.
“In the suicide note, Shashi claimed that he did not open fire at Uday Kumar. According to him, Sai snatched the revolver and shot at Uday. He fled the spot out of fear of being implicated in the murder case as he believed Uday was killed in the incident,” said the inspector.
The Inspector said that it appeared a clear case of suicide. The body was sent to OGH for post mortem and later handed over to Dr Shashikumar’s brother. Dr Shashi Kumar was a resident of Chaitanyapuri and is survived by wife and two children. His body was collected by brother RK Pathak.
Central Zone DCP, VB Kamalasan Reddy, said that Shashi Kumar’s claims in the suicide note regarding who opened fire could not be established. “Dr Sai has been with us ever since the incident occured. Dr Shashi’s claims could not be corroborated. Our evidence says Dr Shashi has opened fire. He has used the same weapon to commit suicide,” said the DCP.
According to Dr Shashi’s suicide note, his partners owe him about `1.34 cr. He named five of his partners, namely, Uday, Sai Kumar, KK Reddy, Obul Reddy and Rama Rao for betraying him and appealed to punish them. “He named these five persons and sought punishment but it not clear why”, said the inspector.
Shashikumar, a general physician has been running his own clinic in Chaitanyapuri. Police questioned both Chandrakala and Dr Sai Kumar.
Dr Shashi Believed Uday was Killed
“There was no TV at the farmhouse and therefore Dr Shashikumar did not know that his business partner had escaped with a minor injury, despite being shot at point-blank range. As he did not have any contact with outside world, he believed that Uday was dead,” said a police official.
After reaching the farmhouse, he sat and consumed almost 90 per cent of a full bottle of 100 Pipers whisky. He sent away the domestic help who brought him some cooked food before committing suicide,” the police officer added. Investigations revealed that Dr Uday had borrowed `25 lakh from Dr Shashi and is learnt to have agreed to pay monthly interest on this. But he failed to keep his word. Dr Uday, soon after the incident where he got shot under his left ear, had told police that the three were partners of Laurel hospital in Madhapur which started operations on January 1. They had been working on the partnership for the last three years.
As Dr Shashi felt he was being sidelined, he wanted his investment to be returned. DCP Kamalasan Reddy told that Dr Shashi Kumar had invested `75 lakh and the other two partners had invested up to `3 crore each. “Uday and Sai became MD and CEO of the 100-bedded hospital respectively. As Shashi was made only one of the directors, he felt being sidelined,” said the DCP.