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| Slain Indian businessman Datta Phuge |
Mumbai
(AFP) - An Indian businessman who made headlines in 2013 for purchasing
one of the world's most expensive shirts made entirely of gold has been
beaten to death in western India, according to a report Friday.
Datta Phuge gained fame when he ordered a customized gold shirt worth 12.7 million rupees, around $240,000 dollars at the time.
It
was made up of 14,000 pieces of 22-carat gold, weighed 3.32 kilogrammes
(7.3 pounds) and was put together by 15 craftsmen over 16 days.
The hefty garment earned Phuge -- a money lender from Pune in Maharashtra state -- the moniker "gold man", a title he cherished.
Police
said Phuge, believed to be in his mid-40s, was attacked and killed by
12 assailants brandishing stones and sharp weapons on Thursday night
after one of the suspects had invited him for a party, according to the
Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency.
"As
per preliminary information, Phuge and his son were invited by one of
the suspects, who know each other, to celebrate a birthday. However, we
are investigating how Phuge reached the open ground where he was
murdered," PTI quoted local police inspector Navnath Ghogare as saying.
Phuge's
22-year-old son witnessed his father being murdered and had been spared
by the alleged killers, he added, saying that police suspected the
motive could have been a dispute over a money transaction. Four suspects
have been detained.
Phuge loved gold and the fame that came with his shirt.
"Everybody
knows me as the 'gold man' in the whole region. Other rich people spend
one crore (10 million rupees) to buy Audis or Mercedes, to buy what
they like. What crime have I done? I just love gold," he told AFP in
2013.
"Gold
has always been my passion since a young age. I've always worn gold as
jewellery in the form of bracelets, rings, chains," he added.
India is the world's biggest consumer of gold, with purchases an essential part of religious festivals and weddings.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/indias-gold-man-beaten-death-report-152036959.html
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