One killed, 2 injured in firing at liquor shop in Manesar

Police said the assailants fired more than 15 bullets, which hit three customers

A 30-year-old labourer was killed and two others severely injured after two unidentified men opened fire inside a liquor shop at Panchgaon crossing in Manesar on Friday night.

The liquor outlet at Panchgaon crossing in Manesar where the shooting took place on Friday night. (Parveen Kumar/ HT)

There were nearly eight customers and five salesmen in the shop at the time of the incident, said police. The victims were buying liquor from the shop around 8pm when they got shot, they said.

Police said the assailants fired more than 15 bullets, which hit three customers. One of them, Sandeep Singh, a resident of Bhahila Village of Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, was declared dead on arrival at the hospital, while the other two, Devraj Sharma and Rajendra Prasad of Alwar in Rajasthan, were critically injured and admitted to hospital for treatment, said police. The thee men were working in Panchgaon area as daily wage earners, said investigators, adding that besides them, several others sustained minor injuries.

Police said they cannot rule out the possibility of a gang being behind the incident.

Kala Ramachandran, Gurugram commissioner of police, said their team from Manesar police station and patrolling team reached the spot within a few minutes. “We have recovered the CCTV footage from the shop and have recorded statements of the liquor shop owner and staff. The owner and his brother received threatening calls from the suspects last week but they did not report these to the police. Our teams are conducting an investigation and we will soon arrest the suspects,” she said.

Kala said they have announced a reward of ₹50,000 for information leading to the arrest of the suspects. “The person providing police with information about the accused involved in this case will be given a reward of ₹50,000 by the Gurugram police and the name of the informer will be kept secret,” she said

CCTV footage recovered from the liquor shop showed two men dressed in white shirt and trousers entering the shop after parking their motorcycle outside. Within a few minutes, they resort to indiscriminate firing, injuring customers nearby. After two minutes of firing, they are seen exiting the shop holding the guns in their hands.

Police said the assailants reached the shop and asked the person at the cash counter whether the shop belonged to a man named Kuldeep. On being told that it did, they allegedly threatened the employees and opened fire, first at the roof and then at the crowd.

Kuldeep Singh, owner of the shop, Discovery Wines, and resident of Bhora Kalan village, said he received a threat call from an international number a week ago and was told to transfer his liquor shop to another person. “I did not take the call seriously; a similar call was received by my brother. We thought some business rivals were pranking us and did not complain to police. The caller was trying to pressure us into giving up the liquor shop by threatening to harm us,” he said.

Singh said after the shooting incident, he again received a call from the same person, who allegedly told him that the shooting was “only a trailer” so as to make them take the threats seriously.

One of the salesmen at the shop said, “After speaking to us for a few seconds, they took out pistols from their pocket and started firing indiscriminately. We panicked and tried to hide behind the counter, but they were not aiming at anyone in particular; instead, they shot at everyone who was present in the shop. They had a white cloth on their heads but their faces were visible,” he said, asking not to be named.

Mahesh Kumar, a resident of Manesar village, who had stopped at the vend to buy liquor, said he had just parked his motorbike outside the shop when he heard gunshots. “Two men came out of the shop holding pistols and they fired a few rounds. They got on their motorbike and fled the spot. People were alarmed, and they ran inside to save the injured; there was blood was all over,” he said.

Singh, who is the complainant in the case, said he was in his office behind the liquor shop and came out on hearing gunshots. “I raised the alarm after which the suspects fled the shop. I took the injured to a private hospital. While I was completing the formalities at the hospital, I again received a call from an international number and the caller told me that the shooting was a consequence of me not giving up my shop. He again threatened to kill me,” Singh said.

On Singh’s complaint, a case was registered against unknown persons under sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 506 (criminal intimidation), 34 (common intention), and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, besides section 25-54-59 of the Arms Act at the Manesar police station on Saturday, said police.