In a horrifying incident, two persons indiscriminately fired at a crowd dispersing after Navratri celebrations in Mumbai’s Kandivali west suburb, killing one and injuring at least three others, on Saturday.
Kandivali police, which is probing the incident, said that they have launched a manhunt for the unknown assailants.
According to an official, at around 12.15 a.m., the two men sped to the Laljipada area and started shooting at the people dispersing after a local Navratri programme.
Amidst the chaos, the assailants’ bullets managed to kill one and wounded three others, said the official.
The victim was identified as Ankit Yadav, who died on the spot, while Abhilash Dabholkar, Prakash Narain and Manish Gupta who sustained gunshot injuries, have been admitted to the BMC’s Shatabdi Hospital for treatment.
Locals claimed that the assailants may be youths living in the vicinity, while the police ruled out the possibility of a gang war and suspect it to be vendetta for some previous enmity.
Deputy Commissioner of Police-11 Vishal Thakur said that teams were on the lookout for the killers, scanning CCTVs in the area, probing various angles, including from where the guns were acquired, the exact number of rounds fired, and other issues.
(The story has been published via a syndicated feed with a modified headline)
It may be that the assailants didn’t like the celebration of Hindu festival, Navaratri. As the participants dispersed, the assailants opened fire from their running vehicle to minimize the risk of their arrest while pulling down some.
Such “minor” things become endemic once a civil war sets in. That will happen in 20 years unless we do something. Btw, during the Khalistan movement in 80s, extremist Sikhs routinely fired into Ramlilas, prayer meetings and all. So we have seen such things before also. Hope this one is personal enemity only.