Businessman's murder puts Vizagites in jitters

Visakhapatnam: The police have released footage from a CCTV camera which shows the gruesome murder of businessman Vikram Prakash Dhamija being stabbed for several times. The sensational murder has sent shocking waves to the residents of posh localities in the city and the associations of various apartments have started installing CCTV cameras and doubled the restrictions for entry of visitors. The CCTV footage shows that a six-member gang had come to the Sea Surf apartment on July 17 around at 3,30 pm while two of the gang waited down in the cellar and four entered into Vikram Prakash Dhamija’s flat at around 3.36 pm.

As Vikram Dhamija was chairman and managing director of Best Cranes Private Limited, he set up an office room in his flat.  The doorbell was answered by Vikram’s driver and the assailants had asked in Hindi ‘Saab hai kya’.  The driver made the four members to sit in the office room and informed Vikram, who was resting in one of the bedrooms.

When Vikram and his wife were about to go the office room and the driver wanted to go out of the apartment, he was stopped and stabbed first. Vikram who went to the office room was also stabbed multiple times and his wife who had come to his rescue was also stabbed. Luckily, Vikram’s school-going daughter who was present at home at that time was untouched. Severely injured Vikram died while he was availing treatment in a corporate hospital on July 18.

“We have examined the CCTV footage and soon we will nab all the members of the gang,” said ACP (East) A.N. Murthy. Ramesh K, resident of a posh apartment on the beach road said that the businessman’s murder has put the residents in jitters. “Our Apartment Welfare Association has organised a meeting to beef up the security by installing advanced CCTV cameras and to post youngsters as security guards. Not only the residential welfare associations on beach road but also such associations in MVP Colony, East Point Colony, Kirlampudi Layout and a few other posh localities have decided to properly maintain CCTV cameras in the apartments,” says K. Siva Kumar, a software professional and resident of MVP Colony. Sources said that businessmen have been receiving more orders for the CCTV cameras from apartments.