The son of prominent Punjabi writer and poet Amrita Pritam was found brutally murdered in his residence-cum-studio in Borivali on Friday afternoon. The police has launched a manhunt for two unidentified men who were seen fleeing the building and a complaint of murder has been registered.
According to the MHB police, the deceased has been identified as Navraj Kawatra (65), a resident of the Wilderness Cooperative Housing Society in the LIC Colony, Borivali. At around 12:30 pm on Friday, some of his neighbours saw two men enter the building. Loud noises were heard shortly thereafter. The duo was spotted running out of the building, after which neighbours went to Kawatra’s ground floor flat to investigate. Kawatra was lying on the ground bound and gagged, so the neighbours immediately called the police.
“Prima facie, it appears that Kawatra was strangled to death, as there are possible ligature marks around his throat. We have sent the body for post-mortem and reports are awaited,” said Suresh Kilje, senior police inspector, MHB police station.
The police said that Kawatra was a film producer and photographer, and used to live alone in Andheri. He had bought the flat in Borivali a few years ago and converted it into an alternate residence-cum-studio.
Kawatra’s neighbours have told the police that his wife lives in Delhi, his son lives abroad and his daughter is currently in Thailand to attend an exhibition. They have all been informed about his death and have left for Mumbai.
The police is now combing the house for clues, checking for any signs of robbery, which is one of the probable motives behind the murder. Possibilities of other personal motives like enmities will only be clear after Kawatra’s family has been spoken to. Sketches of the two suspects are being prepared, the police said.