Pravin Mahajan, who shot at his elder brother and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pramod Mahajan on Saturday morning told the police that he fired at his brother in a 'fit of rage' as he used to 'ill treat' him.
Repentant though of his action, Pravin alleged that Pramod Mahajan treated him and his family 'like dirt' and often inflicted insult on them in public.
"I have been seeking appointment of Pramod for the last 15 days but in vain... I, therefore, decided to visit him early in the morning to accost him for his behaviour," Pravin said in a statement recorded by Worli police station soon after he surrendered.
Pravin claimed that he was 'ill treated' by his eldest brother in public who never assisted him financially and kept him away from family functions.
"Life as brother of a prominent personality became a curse to me...I am a poor brother of a rich man," Pravin was quoted as having said in his statement.
Sources said Pravin appeared a deeply frustrated man inflicted by an inferiority complex and that could have prompted him to make an attempt on the life of the BJP leader.
Mumbai Police Commissioner A N Roy refused to go in to the details of Pravin's statement and the reasons behind the attack.
"The attack does not seem to be an outcome of any immediate, grave and sudden provocation," he told PTI.
According to Pravin, Pramod Mahajan ignored his presence in public and even at family gatherings.
"I was humiliated by him on several occasions and the matter became so much public that even his personal assistants insulted me and refused to give an appointment to meet him," Pravinn, a contractor, said.
Fed up of constant insults, 45-year-old Pravin, youngest of the three Mahajan brothers, said he decided to meet Mahajan early in the morning so that Pramod would not get a chance of claiming to be busy due to pre-decided engagements.
"Even when I reached his house this morning, he was reading newspapers and refused to acknowledge my presence in the house. Vahini (Pramod Mahajan's wife) in fact offered me a cup of tea, but dada (Pramod) refused to talk," Pravin told the police.
Pravin claimed that it was that time that his built up anger burst and he shot his brother thrice, before leaving the place and surrendering himself to Worli police.
Meanwhile, Pravin was taken to a government hospital this afternoon for a routine post-arrest medical examination. He will be produced in court on Sunday.
Mumbai police officials are, however, taking the theory of sudden provocation by Pravin with a pinch of salt and feel it was pre-mediated attack.
Police Commissioner A N Roy said Pravin is 'normal' and of 'sound mind' and there was no sudden provocation for his action against his elder brother. He shot Pramod due to 'personal reasons, he said citing interrogation of Pravin who has been arrested.
Dismissing Pravin's lawyer claim that his client suffered from mental illness, Roy said, "There is nothing to indicate that he was no a man of unsound mind. He sounded normal and of sound mind when he was interrogated."
The police commissioner said, "He was fairly well dressed, talked quite logically to police during sustained interrogation."
To a question, Roy said it was not a matter of 'grave and sudden provocation. Obviously he had made up his mind....He had fired the bullets because of personal reasons."
More from rediff