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Shootout on NN campus rocks city
THE NAGAR Nigam premises reverberated with the sound of gunshots on Monday afternoon as armed men backed by two mafiosi clashed in a bid to have sway over Tehbazari tenders. However, nobody sustained gunshot injuries. As guns spitted fire, many people, who had gathered in the premises for personal work, ran for their lives. Shocked officials and employees of the Nagar Nigam could not muster courage to leave their seats to know what had happened outside.
THE NAGAR Nigam premises reverberated with the sound of gunshots on Monday afternoon as armed men backed by two mafiosi clashed in a bid to have sway over Tehbazari tenders. However, nobody sustained gunshot injuries.
As guns spitted fire, many people, who had gathered in the premises for personal work, ran for their lives. Shocked officials and employees of the Nagar Nigam could not muster courage to leave their seats to know what had happened outside.
However, after the firing, some armed men were seen severely beating one Bali Pandit they had managed to nab.
What shocked the employees and officials was the fact that it was a clash between men reportedly backed by Samajwadi Party's MP Ateeq Ahmad and Ram Lochan Yadav, brother of Samajwadi Party MLA Bijma Yadav.
While Ateeq Ahmad was not present on the scene, the other side was led by Ram Lochan Yadav, who is always in the news for his strong-arm tactics whenever tenders are invited by any department.
Sources said, tehbazari tenders worth over Rs 4 crore had been called today and armed men belonging to both the groups had come well prepared to deal with any situation.
However, Bali Pandit was nabbed by the Civil Lines police from the spot. Said to be Ateeq's man, he was caught and severely beaten allegedly by Lochan and his men as he was coming out after submitting his tender. Seeing him cornered some of his men allegedly hurled a few crude bombs in a bid to send signals to the other side that they too meant business. But Lochan and his men, who had come in three Safari cars proved to be stronger in this game of one upmanship.
Surprisingly, all this happened even when the Nagar Nagam is equipped with permanent armed police guards.
Ceiling and walls of the verandah near the municipal commissioner's office bear tell tale signs of bullets which made gaping holes.
Some corporators expressed surprise over inviting of tehbazari tenders as the same had been banned through a GO in 2003. Kamlesh Singh, a corporator, said tehbazari was banned by the State Government because it came in the purview of encroachment.
On the other hand, police said Bali Pandit was a hardened criminal, who had made a murderous attack on the life of then Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal on December 28, 2004. Raju Pal's two gunners had sustained injuries in this attack.
Later, Raju Pal's men in retaliation had torched Bali Pandit's house in Dhumanganj on January 5, 2005.
