Moon Das

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 27: Orissa businessman Avinash Patnaik, accused of a shooting spree at ex-girlfriend Moon Das’s Mumbai flat, had transferred Rs 5 lakh to her account on Valentine’s Day this year, his family has claimed.

Avinash, 22, allegedly shot Moon’s mother and uncle before killing himself on Thursday, three months after the couple are believed to have broken up.

The young man’s family in Orissa said Avinash had lavished money on Moon during their relationship, and suggested that rather than being a double murderer, he was the victim of a conspiracy.

Pritam, Avinash’s elder brother, made the claim about the February 14 money transfer. “The documents are on his laptop; we can prove it anytime. Also, he spent lakhs to book a flat in the name of the girl,” said Suvendu, Avinash’s uncle.

He said a communication from the builder, asking for payment, was found on Avinash’s laptop.

The family alleged that Moon, a 23-year-old model, had encouraged Avinash to splurge money on her and then dumped him. The young man, who owned a rice mill, had taken a bank loan of around Rs 2 crore for his business, they said. Avinash’s bank balance reportedly is Rs 1.25 crore.

Mumbai police, however, have rejected another of the Patnaiks’ claims. “Why should Avinash shoot himself on the left temple so perfectly when he was a right-hander?” Pritam, an MBA student in Mumbai, had said.

But the police said forensic tests had confirmed that the bullet had entered Avinash’s skull through the right side and emerged through the left.

Pritam said Avinash wanted to launch a music album starring Moon and had spent some money so that Moon would receive offers for music video roles.

Avinash’s friends at Angul said that although the couple were said to have broken up in August, Moon had visited Angul on September 24-25. She and Avinash had checked in at Durga Hotel pretending to be husband and wife.

Avinash’s father Bhupen said that only four hours before the shooting, Avinash had spoken to his mother over the phone. “He sounded normal and cheerful. There is no way he would have killed anyone a few hours later.”