A family dispute over money for alcohol turned fatal when a 58-year-old man shot his 35-year-old son with a licensed gun in Karnataka’s Bengaluru on Thursday, January 25. The police have arrested the accused, identified as Suresh, and seized the weapon used in the crime. The accused has been booked under relevant sections of the IPC.
According to the report published in The New Indian Express, the incident occurred around 7 pm at their residence in Karekallu, under the jurisdiction of Kamakshipalya police station. Suresh, a former gunman with a private security agency, had been unemployed for the last six months and was addicted to liquor. He would often demand money from his son, Narthan Bopanna, who worked as a software engineer.
On Thursday evening, Suresh asked Bopanna for money to buy liquor, but the latter refused, saying that he had already given him enough. This led to a heated argument between the father and son, and Bopanna locked Suresh in a room to avoid further confrontation. However, Suresh managed to get hold of his 12-bore single-barrel gun, which he had kept in the room, and fired at Bopanna through the window, hitting him in the chest.
Bopanna, who was critically injured, managed to call his sister and inform her about the incident. She alerted their relatives, who rushed Bopanna to a nearby private hospital. However, he succumbed to his injuries due to excessive bleeding, the police said.
The police said that Bopanna had quit his job two months ago to take care of his ailing mother, who was also living with them. The family hailed from Madikeri in Kodagu district and had moved to Bengaluru a few years ago. Kamakshipalya police have registered a case of murder against Suresh and are investigating the matter further. They have also sent the gun for forensic examination to ascertain its ownership and validity.
