Men on bike fire shots at pub in Mohali’s Sector 80

Diners, staff scurry for cover as bullet pierces through the windowpane of Brew Bros Microbrewery in Sector 80, Mohali, close to Friday midnight; none hurt

Panic gripped diners as two armed men fired two gunshots at the windows of Brew Bros Microbrewery in Sector 80 on Airport Road on Friday night.

The shooters fired two bullets, one of which hit the pub’s windowpane, said Mohali police. (HT Photo)

Diners and restaurant staff had a close shave as one bullet pierced through a windowpane, sending them scurrying for cover.

Restaurant owner Harpreet Singh said they were wrapping up business for the night, while some customers were still dining around 11.30 pm. Suddenly, two men arrived on a motorcycle and fired two rounds of bullets, one of which hit the first-floor windowpane of the three-storey restaurant-cum-pub.

While they made sense of what just happened, two men arrived in an open-top Mercedes and issued threats to his staff members to quit their jobs or their families will be wiped out, before speeding off, Singh alleged.

“We have started investigation after registering a case. However, no bullet shell was recovered from the scene and even the restaurant’s CCTV cameras were not working,” said Kuljeet Singh, station house officer (SHO), Sohana police station.

Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harjeet Singh said the restaurant owner had provided the Mercedes’ registration number, which was being verified to trace the accused.

Restaurant owner receives extortion, threat messages

Restaurant owner Harpreet Singh told the police that he had received multiple threat text messages on WhatsApp before and after the firing.

Before the shots were fired on Friday night, he received a message from someone claiming to be from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, demanding a ransom of ₹40 lakh. When he didn’t respond, on Saturday he received another message threatening him that “it’s just a trailer, don’t mistake it for the complete film”.

He alleged that the messages also threatened that his family would not be safe if he blocked the phone number or didn’t respond to calls from it.

Sohana SHO Kuljeet Singh said they were verifying the phone number used to send the messages.

Meanwhile, a case under Sections 386 (extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act has been registered against unidentified persons at the Sohana police station.