File photo of Harmesh with his grandparents Hari Chand and Krishna Devi.

BARNALA: A Youth Congress leader shot himself after killing his grandmother with a revolver in Barnala on Sunday. Sources said, Harmesh Mittal , 25, took the extreme step as he was unable to bear the loss of his grandfather Hari Chand , who died earlier in the day after prolonged illness.

Mittal was living with his grandparents as his father had died before he was born and his mother had shifted to her parental house after her husband’s death. Mittal was unmarried and had a wooden furniture showroom at Kacha College Road in Barnala.

Barnala district Congress president Makhan Sharma, who was at Mittal’s residence when he took the extreme step, said, “He was the general secretary fo Barnala district urban Youth Congress and could not handle the death of his grandfather.

in a room on upper storey of his house, said that "Harmesh was general secretary of Barnala district urban youth Congress and was under depression after his grandfather Hari Chand (74) died of cancer on the wee hours of Sunday. He took his grandmother Krishna Devi, 72, to a room and pumped a bullet in her head before firing at himsled with a licensed weapon. The gunshots, which came from the upper floor of the house, took us by surprise. When we rushed upstairs, we found them both lying in a pool of blood. Both were declared brought dead by doctors in hospital they were taken to.”

Mittals’ neighbour Harish Kumar said the youth Congress leader was born a few days after the death of his father and was the only child of his parents.

Barnala DSP Rajesh Chhiber said that as Mittals killed his grandmother, a case under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against him. But as he has also been killed, the case will become defunct after the legal formalities are completed.

