Indian political leader shot by brother
Pramod Mahajan addressing an industrial conference in 2001 © FICCI
A senior Indian politician died in hospital on 3 May from injuries sustained when he was shot three times by his brother on 22 April.
Pramod Mahajan was shot by his brother on the morning of 22 April, the motive remaining unclear. According to media reports, the attacker used a .32 caliber Browning handgun which he owned legally. Pramod Mahajan is the General Secretary of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), India's main opposition party.
Press reports suggest that Pravin Mahajan, the shooter, was suffering from depression. Pravin received a firearms license in 1996, and according to some reports obtained a handgun in 1999 claiming that he needed to protect himself from threats. Given the likely mental state of the shooter, IANSA is concerned that procedures were not in place to ensure that he was disarmed long before this assault. The law in some Australian states provides a useful model, where mental health professionals are obliged to report a patient to the police if there is a risk their access to a gun will be unsafe for themselves or another person.
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