A 22-year old man from Chandigarh was found dead at Hotel Grand Majestic in Dhalli, a nearby sub-town in Shimla, on Friday.
Police said that the victim was identified as Ajay Sharma, a resident of SCF-40, Grain Market in Sector 26, Chandigarh. Police said that his cousin identified as Arjun Sharma, a resident of Sector 10 in Panchkula, Haryana, who had checked in the hotel along with the victim last night, is absconding.
According to sources, the spot inspection suggested that Arjun slit the throat of victim Ajay and also hit a beer bottle on his head. He fled on a motorcycle after committing the crime, sources added.
“On the night of Wednesday, two guests — Akash Sharma of Chandigarh and Arjun Sharma of Panchkula — checked into the hotel. The two, aged around 22–23, were cousins and had reportedly come to Shimla to celebrate a birthday. On the morning of June 13, at around 10 am, the hotel receptionist Manish Thakur received a call from an unknown number. The caller informed him that the mobile phones of both guests were switched off, and further revealed that Arjun had contacted his family and confessed to killing Akash Sharma. The caller urged the hotel staff to check the room immediately,” a police officer said.
Sources said that Thakur used the master key to access the room and found Akash Sharma lying motionless on the bed, with his face soaked in blood. He immediately alerted the police. A team from the police station in Dhalli, along with experts from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), reached the scene and began collecting evidence.
Preliminary investigation suggests that an altercation broke out between the cousins in the early hours of June 13, following which Arjun allegedly slit Akash’s throat and struck him with a beer bottle before fleeing on his motorcycle.
The police have launched a manhunt to trace and apprehend the accused. Further investigation is underway.
