Hindustan Times, January 11, 2001
City-based NRI industrialist found murdered in Kurukshetra farmhouse
Rajnish Sharma/Vijay Sabharwal
(New Delhi/Kurukshetra, January 10)
IN A sensational incident a 50-year-old industrialist and NRI, Kamal Kapoor, was murdered under mysterious circumstances at his posh farmhouse near Kurukshetra late Monday night. Kamal Kapoor, a resident of Vikaspuri had shifted to Los Angeles with his wife and two sons about eight months ago after he was granted the American citizenship.
Kamal Kapoor had a pharmaceutical plant, a rice mill and massive agricultural land near Kurukshtera. He also had a chain of computer centres in Delhi. Shocked relatives who had gathered at the victim's palatial Vikaspuri bunglow said Kamal Kapoor had left Delhi on Monday evening for his farmhouse in his Honda City car, HR 41 5900.
``According to the watchman at the farmhouse Kamal reached there around 8 pm. After sometime he saw two persons leaving the farmhouse in the same car. One of the occupants was apparently a girl. But since it was dark and the car left at a high speed the he could not clearly see the occupants. However, he did get suspicious thinking why Kamal would leave within hours of reaching the farmhouse,'' said Rakesh Kumar, one of the relatives.
The watchman on going inside the farmhouse noticed that one of the bedrooms was locked from outside. Meanwhile, a relative of the victim also reached the farmhouse and suspecting some foulplay broke the door of the bedroom. Kamal Kapoor's body was found lying on the bed.
The victim's family suspects that he was being followed by a gang of criminals from Delhi. ``The bedroom had been completely ransacked and a large amount of cash and a laptop computer having details of all the business transactions was found missing. There was some cash in the car also. We are still trying to ascertain the exact amount which would be in several lakh,'' said Krishna Mehta, the victim's sister.
Meanwhile, the police managed to find the industrialist's car on Tuesday morning a few kilometres from the farmhouse on the Delhi-Kurukshetra Road. In an attempt to escape the killers hit the railing of a bridge due which the car's axle broke. ``One of the tyres was punctured and the assailants had even changed it. But on realising that the car's axle was broken they dumped the car and escaped,'' said Desh Raj, Superintendent of Police Kurukshetra.
Mr Singh said the police was also investigating the presence of a mysterious woman at the farmhouse. ``The watchman has informed the police that Kamal Kapoor had arrived at the farmhouse with a 25-year-old woman in the car. He also informed that the woman looked from a high-class family and was smoking. We have managed to draw the portrait of the woman as well,'' Mr Singh said.
A police team is being despatched to Delhi to investigate whether the 'mysterious woman' was from the Capital.
The victim's family members however, refuted that any woman had accompanied him to the farmhouse from Delhi. "This is totally false and the watchman has been giving conflicting versions to the police," Krishna Mehta added.
The murder mystery has thus deepened further and the police are also investigating the possibility of a business rivalry. Mr Singh said the industrialist had some business rivalry. The police have not been able to ascertain the exact cause of death but suspect the industrialist was either strangulated or smothered to death. The body has been sent to the Rohtak Medical College for post-mortem.
The victim's wife and sons are expected to reach Delhi from Los Angeles on late Thursday night after which the cremation will take place.
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