Three fire at luxury car showroom in Gurugram, extortion bid suspected

Police said the showroom owner, Jatin Ahuja, had filed a complaint against Bhau in 2024, alleging a bid to extort ₹5 crore from him.

Gurugram

A social media post claimed it to be the work of gangster Himanshu Bhau, who is reportedly operating from a foreign country. (Parveen Kumar/HT PHOTO)

Three persons on a motorbike fired at least 18 rounds at a luxury car showroom located at Hero Honda Chowk on the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway, injuring at least one person in a suspected extortion bid on Saturday evening, police said on Sunday.

The incident took place at the Big Boy Toyz showroom, and a social media post claimed it to be the work of gangster Himanshu Bhau, who is reportedly operating from a foreign country. Police said the showroom owner, Jatin Ahuja, had filed a complaint against Bhau in 2024, alleging a bid to extort ₹5 crore from him.

“All the suspects involved in the firing on the showroom have been identified and they will be arrested soon. Teams have been formed to carry out raids and nab them at earliest,” said Virender Saini, assistant commissioner of police (Manesar).

Investigators said that the incident took place between 6.30pm and 7pm, when sudden and indiscriminate firing led to everyone running for cover. However, a driver employed by the showroom, identified as Raj Pal, was seated inside a car at the entrance and sustained a bullet injury to his shoulder. He is undergoing treatment and is stable, police said.

According to the sequence of events shared by the police, the three accused reached the spot in a two-wheeler. Two of them got down and fired at least 18 rounds, shattering the glass panes, and damaging doors and cars on display at the entrance. Within two minutes, they fled the spot, officers said.

Police said that within hours, the social media post of Bhau claiming responsibility was made and they took it down soon.

A senior police official, who did not wish to be named, said that the showroom owner, Jatin Ahuja, had got an FIR filed against Himanshu Bhau at the Sector 37 police station in 2024. “No suspect was arrested in that case, which remains open. In between, Ahuja never approached police over any further threat or extortion call,” the officer said, adding the incidents could be linked.

The showroom management did not respond to multiple attempts by HT to seek comment on the incident.

Police said the suspected shooters and their associates were identified as Atul, Deepak and Neeraj, all of Kulasi village in Haryana’s Jhajjar. Officials said that only after their arrest can they ascertain the motive and on whose directions they opened fire.

On complaint of the injured staffer, Pal, an FIR was registered against the accused under Sections 109 (1) (attempt to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and sections of the Arms Act at the Sector 37 police station on Saturday.