Pydhonie hotelier arrested for firing at labourer

Accused said he was tired of fights among alcoholics and drug addicts near his house and decided to threaten them to scare them away with his airgun

A 32-year-old hotelier from Pydhonie here was arrested on Sunday for firing his airgun at a labourer and injuring him. According to Pydhonie police, the incident occurred on Thursday evening at around 10 pm when a group of labourers were sitting under the JJ Flyover near Noor Mohammadi Hotel in Pydhonie and allegedly consuming alcohol.

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One of the labourers, Jitendra Kumar Gurup Chand, was hit on his right leg by shrapnel and he started bleeding. Chand saw three persons standing on the second floor of the building that houses Noor Mohammadi Hotel, with one of them holding an airgun, said police.

“In his statement, Chand said the man had pointed his gun at him and asked him to leave the area,” said a police officer. Chand and others then went to JJ Hospital where the shrapnel was removed from his leg.

On Saturday, Chand registered a First Information Report (FIR) at the Pydhonie police station. “We conducted an inquiry and after questioning several people in the building, as per the statement given by Chand, the accused was identified and arrested under the charges of 326 (offence of voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons) of the Indian Penal Code and Arms act,” said senior inspector Subhash Dudhgaokar of the Pydhonie police station.

The accused, Mohammad Qureshi, is a hotelier and lives in Pydhonie. Initial investigations reveal that Qureshi was fed up with fights between alcoholics or drug addicts outside his house, and decided to threaten them to scare them away with his airgun, said police.