Man found dead with gunshot wound at residence

Jammu, Sep 17 : A 35-year-old man was found dead at his residence here on Thursday with a gunshot wound in the head. Police are suspecting suicide or accidental firing even as some family members and relatives alleged that he was killed.

Deceased Deepak Sharma, a resident of Reshamgarh Colony in Jammu city, was a newspaper hawker by profession, officials said.

According to the officials, Sharma sustained the fatal gunshot injury at around 12:30 pm and died on the spot.

A police team rushed to the house after being informed about the incident, along with forensic experts, and seized a firearm found near the body, the officials said.

A preliminary investigation suggests that Sharma may have either died by suicide or lost his life due to accidental firing while handling the weapon, they added.

However, the circumstances leading to his death are still under investigation, including how the pistol came to the house, the officials said.

The deceased’s wife, Pooja Sharma, said she found her husband lying in a pool of blood shortly after he had lunch at the house. A pistol was lying nearby, she said.

“We heard no gunshot. We have no weapon in our house,” Pooja Sharma said, breaking down while speaking to reporters.

The deceased is survived by his wife, two children and aged parents. He also used to work as a property dealer.

The body was shifted to the mortuary of the Government Medical College (GMC) Hospital, Jammu, for post-mortem, the officials said.

A number of relatives and friends of the deceased gathered at the hospital, with some of them claiming that Sharma might have been shot by an unidentified person who entered the house.

The relatives demanded a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.

Police have initiated the inquest proceedings and are examining the scene, the seized firearm and other available evidence to establish the sequence of events, the officials said, adding that no conclusion has been reached so far and the exact circumstances of Sharma’s death will be established after the investigation.