January 22, 2003	Wednesday	Ziqa’ad 18, 1423

DUBAI, Jan 21: The Dubai police on Tuesday claimed it had made headway in investigations into the murder of a Dubai-based Indian businessman.

Two assailants in the India Club and in front of many eyewitnesses killed the 43-year old Sharad Shetty, who was reported to have connections with India’s underworld.

Several children were playing basketball in the club at the time of the murder.

The police chief blamed it on an organized gang out to settle scores in Dubai warned of tough actions against those responsible.

The police said they thought the murder was an isolated incident. “It is an isolated incident and we do not expect any repercussions,” Major General Sharafuddin Mohammed Hussain Sharaf was quoted as saying by local newspapers.

He also assured the business community that Dubai, where such incidents are rare, was still a safe place to live in and do business.

In a twist to the tale, a south Indian businessman who hails from the same city as the victim, Mangalore, and shares the same last name, claimed that he is the sole owner of the hotel chain that was reported to be owned by Sharad Shetty.

Raj Shetty admitted he knew Sharad as he was a frequent visitor to his hotels and was a big spender, but denied links with the Indian underworld.

“The investments in Regent Palace or Regal are mine, not anybody else’s.

“I have built it to a 16-chain hotel of 2,000 employees from scratch,” Raj Shetty, who also owns hotels in Bahrain and India, told the Gulf News.

The investigators say they are “questioning a number of suspects who may have connections to the crime”.