Gurgaon: “Dhankar sahab, please come out for a moment. I need to park my car,” Mohan Sharma urged his neighbour Paramjeet Dhankar, a senior vice-president with Singapore-based FPT Software who had returned to his Faridabad home just a day earlier.Minutes later, as the two walked outside the main gate, Sharma pumped nine bullets into Dhankar, one after another. As the senior IT executive staggered towards the road, trying to escape, Sharma pursued him, continued firing and even changed his magazine as bullets ran out. He then shouted, “Happy Diwali. I will kill everyone today.”He did not stop even after Dhankar slumped to the ground. He fired at his son, who escaped behind parked cars. The incident took place just 500m from the police commissioner’s office.CCTV footage being examined by police shows the sequence of events that led to the cold-blooded murder on Nov 7. According to police, Sharma – a scrap dealer – fired 14 rounds in total from his licensed pistol. Dhankar, a former Asia Pacific head of Tech Mahindra, died before he could be wheeled into hospital.The killing followed weeks of friction between the two families, who lived in the same building in Sector 21C and shared its parking area. Dhankar’s family occupied the ground floor, Sharma lived on the second, and two other families occupied the first and top floors. With four households competing for space, parking had repeatedly triggered arguments, a relative told TOI.According to police, there was also tension between the two families over Sharma’s pet dog. Dhankar’s son had even objected to the dog defecating in the common parking area.An earlier confrontation on Oct 22 had further soured relations. Sharma allegedly damaged the gate of Dhankar’s house, an incident captured on the family’s CCTV cameras. The family gave the footage to police, who called Sharma to the station and allegedly reprimanded him. “After the gate was damaged, the family handed over the CCTV recording to police. They called him to the police station and reprimanded him. The family hoped the matter would end there,” a relative said.But another confrontation took place at the local police station on the day of the murder on Friday. Sources said Dhankar’s friends and associates confronted Sharma, abused and manhandled him. Both sides returned home around 6pm. But the humiliation is likely to have fuelled his anger.Later that evening, Sharma rang the bell at Dhankar’s house and repeatedly urged him to come downstairs and move his car. Dhankar came down with his son, Shaurya. In the footage, Sharma is heard addressing him as “Dhankar sahab” and repeatedly saying, “Brother, brother, brother, please.”The exchange soon turned hostile. Sharma allegedly asked Dhankar if he had brought 20 people to beat him up earlier that day and is heard saying, “Do you know what a widow is?”When Dhankar suggested he did not want to continue the conversation, Shaurya began moving towards the staircase. Sharma allegedly stopped him and asked him to return. He then pulled out his licensed .45 ACP pistol, fitted with an extended magazine, and fired.Dhankar tried to get away, staggering from the garage towards the road. Sharma dashed towards him, firing as he went. As Dhankar fell outside the building, a female relative rushed out. But Sharma continued firing and changed the magazine. He then threatened the family and called out to them to come outside.Dhankar’s father, Mange Ram, had earlier alleged that Sharma was a “notorious man” who would pick fights at the slightest trigger. “There was no need to fight over parking. There is ample space there. My son was a very decent man,” he had said.Dhankar had returned from Singapore on Nov 5 for his nephew’s wedding in Meerut, scheduled for Nov 24. His daughter is in Class IX while his son is pursuing graduation. Dhankar’s wife is a homemaker.A crime branch team arrested Sharma near DLF Chowk in Ballabhgarh the next day and recovered the weapon. A case was registered against him under BNS sections 103 (murder), 109 (attempt to murder) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy).The shooting has also shaken the neighbourhood ahead of Diwali. “Diwali celebrations were anyway spoiled by this shocking incident. There was a sense of panic in the neighbourhood for a few days,” a neighbour said.
