‘Fought with my father, but didn’t kill him’

MAN HELD FOR ‘SLITTING FATHER’S THROAT, BLOWING UP APARTMENT’ IN PATPARGANJ

A DAY after an ex-merchant navy sailor allegedly slit his father’s throat in Patparganj, the accused, Rahul Matta, told police that although he was furious over his father excluding him from his property will, he did not kill him. Instead, he claimed, his father “died on his own” during the commotion.

After allegedly killing his father, Rahul had tried to take his own life by setting off an LPG cylinder explosion in a neighbour’s house, leaving 11 policemen injured. But on Tuesday, Rahul claimed the explosion was set off by a policeman.

A Delhi court Tuesday sent Rahul to 14-day judicial custody.

“He told police he had filed a civil case against his father and had been living on the streets for the last two months. He had joined the merchant navy in 1995 and was expelled in 2008,” police sources said.

The incident also left V K Sharma, an actor who worked in films such as Khosla ka Ghosla and Dum Laga Ke Haisha, homeless. Sharma, whose home was hit by the explosion, said, “I withdrew Rs 40,000 from the bank and bought a new laptop, all of which I lost.” He said he has to travel to Pune for a film screening, but has no ID to show at the airport. For the time being, the family has moved to a friend’s place.

Amit Mehra Sharma, whose home was blown up.