Two men on bike fired at a paan stall owner in Mazgaon

According to the police, the incident occurred around 3am, when Mausim Salmani Abutalib Khan, 33, was sitting with his two friends having tea at a roadside stall

MUMBAI: A paan stall owner was injured after two bike-borne assailants fired at him from a country-made pistol at Shivdas Chapasi Marg in Mazgaon on Saturday.

pot where unidentified person fired a bullet yesterday on sitting people outside Welcome Dresses in Mazgoan. (Anshuman Poyrekar/ HT Photo)

The police suspect that the firing took place over disputes between illegal gutka supply lobbies. The police have booked the duo and are trying to identify and find them through CCTV footage. According to the police, the incident occurred around 3am, when Mausim Salmani Abutalib Khan, 33, was sitting with his two friends having tea at a roadside stall. “Two people came on a Honda Activa scooter and the pillion rider removed a pistol and started firing at them. One bullet hit the floor, ricocheted, and hit the fingers of the right leg of Mausim. After firing, the duo fled away towards Ghodapdeo area,” said the police officer.

Mausim was rushed to JJ Hospital where he was treated. The police said Mausim runs several paan stalls in the Nagpada area and has cases of gutka smuggling registered against him. Since 2012, the state has banned the sale, storage, and transportation of Gutka.

“We suspect this firing was a result of the rivalry between illegal gutka supply gangs in the city, as Mausim was also into it. We are also checking an incident of attempted firing that took place in mid-October in Mira Bhayandar where the revolver failed to fire on a baker and the reason was also related to gutka trafficking dispute,” said the police officer. The police had arrested a Dharavi resident Akbar Shaikh for the Mira-Bhayandar firing.

“We have registered a case against the unknown accused under section 307 (attempt to murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and under various sections of the Arms Act. We have found empty bullet shells and a magazine at the spot,” said the police officer.