Bengaluru: A former chief test pilot and project director of Tejas light combat aircraft was found murdered inside his duplex villa at a gated community at Huskur Gate, off Hosur Road, on the outskirts of the City on Monday morning.
Parvez Hamilton Khokhar, 70, a retired air commodore with the Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment, was found dead in his bedroom.
He was working for Boeing after his retirement, said some Indian Air Force officers.
Assailants had tied Khokhar’s hands and legs, and strangled him with a “dupatta.†They then smothered him using a pillow. There were some injury marks on his neck.
An expensive wristwatch, a wallet and cash were lying near the body. The assailants had ransacked the house and some items in the cupboards in two rooms were found scattered.
Most valuables were found intact. It is not a murder for gain, the police said. A property dispute could have led to the killing. Initial probe indicated that the assailants had entered the house through the terrace.
The police are questioning two security guards of the villas. The assailants may have gained entry from a different spot as the guards said they didn’t notice anyone suspicious at the main entrance.
Khokhar was from Punjab. He had moved to Bengaluru long ago. He was living at Smilee Greens Estate Club with his wife, Pramila. The Khokhars have two daughters. One is in Delhi and the other is in China.
After dinner on Sunday, Khokhar went into his bedroom on the first floor, while his wife slept in another room.
Pramila woke up around 7 am on Monday and could not open the door as it was locked from outside. Her efforts to wake up her husband failed. She called her neighbours and requested them to open the door. They entered the villa through the rear door. Pramila and her neighbours went to Khokhar’s room and saw his body, said the police.
A post mortem was conducted at Victoria Hospital. Khokhars had not installed any CCTV cameras at their villa. There were cameras at the entrance of the gated community.Â
There are more than 25 houses in the community.  The police along with sniffer dogs and finger print experts have inspected the spot and Hebbugodi police have registered a case.
