Five gatecrashers open fire at Lohri gathering, 3 injured
HISTORY-SHEETER HELD Police say his 4 aides absconding, all suspects identified
GURUGRAM : Three people were injured when five inebriated men allegedly gatecrashed a private Lohri celebration in Sector 40 on Monday night and fired at the gathering when they were questioned. One of the suspects has been arrested, the police said on Tuesday.
Muhammad Akil, the commissioner of police, said that all the suspects have been identified, and the four absconding members would be arrested soon. “The accused men gate crashed the Lohri function upon spotting a bar that was set up near the gate. They were already in an inebriated state and got angry when the host questioned them,” he said.
The arrested suspect, Jai Narayan of Madhya Pradesh, is a history-sheeter, who was previously arrested in April 2017 for a daylight heist at New Railway Road branch. The police said that he, along with seven accomplices, had looted 32.5 kilograms of gold and cash, and was released on bail last December.
According to the police, the incident took place around 11pm, when the complainant, Ajay
Vats, and his family, were hosting a party, attended by 85 friends and relatives.
Akil said the suspects arrived in a white Scorpio and entered the house, where a tent was set up for the party at the entrance. “They were seen getting pictures clicked. Vats asked the photographer but he could not identify who they were. After checking with his friends and relatives, he approached the bar, where he saw them holding a liquor bottle. He asked who they were and tried to ascertain who had invited them to the party, when one of the suspects took out a pistol from his trouser pocket and shot at Vats’s brother. The bullet hit his right arm,” he said.
Vats, in his complaint to the police, said that when he asked the suspects their names, one of them pushed him. His brother, who was looking in their direction, came and caught hold of the suspect, following which his friends joined him and opened fire.
The police said that when the guests heard the gunshots, they rushed towards the bar corner. The suspects allegedly opened fire indiscriminately, hitting three people in all.
Akil said they fled the spot, but got stuck in the lane as cars were parked on both sides and there were more Lohri functions organised in the area. “The injured people were seated in a car and were about to be taken to the hospital when the suspects’ car, moving in reverse, rammed their vehicle. They had also rammed more than half dozen of cars that were parked in the lane.
Of the three injured persons, one has been discharged from the hospital, while the remaining two are undergoing treatment. The police are yet to record the statements of the injured.
A case under sections 148 (unlawful assembly), 149 (common objective), 307 (attempt to murder), 427 (causing damage), 452 (trespassing) and several sections of the Arms Act were registered at the Sector 40 police station.