MUMBAI: Pravin Mahajan, who shot his elder brother Pramod Mahajan on April 22, now faces charges under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, said his lawyer Nandkumar Rajurkar. After Pramod Mahajan passed away on Wednesday, the charges of attempt to murder were altered to murder. Pravin Mahajan, who is in judicial custody, will be produced before the court on May 17.

Terming this a routine legal procedure, Additional Commissioner of Police Subodh Jaiswal said that after an attacked person dies of injuries, the police are required to submit the post mortem examination report of the deceased to the court with an application to alter the charges. The court allows this and thus the charges stand altered. On Wednesday, the post mortem examination conducted on Mr. Mahajan included the removal of the three bullets that were lodged in his body. These will be part of the evidence during the trial and have been sent to the Central Forensic Laboratory.

Mr. Rajurkar said the police had applied for alteration of charges in the Bhoiwada court on Thursday and the magistrate has allowed it. He said Pravin Mahajan was not produced in the court.

When asked if Pravin knew about the charges, and his state of mind after Mahajan's death, he replied, "When Pravin shot Pramodji and surrendered at the police station, he did not know that Pramodji was alive. His reaction is not very different. Of course, he was not mentally fit. I do not have easy access to him and I have not met him since Wednesday."

"One will never know the truth as to what actually transpired between the two brothers. One side of the story will never be told, as Pramodji is no more. Justice will not be complete."

While Pravin Mahajan is now in jail, his family has remained in their family home in Thane. Neither his wife Sarangi nor their two children attended Mr. Mahajan's funeral on Thursday. While members of the media waited outside Pravin Mahajan's house, hoping to get a reaction from his family, no one came out of the house to speak to them. Ms. Sarangi Mahajan's brothers have come from Nagpur and are reportedly with her. She has also recorded a statement with the police in which she has revealed that Pravin was depressed and short-tempered.

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