After evading the police dragnet for nearly 16 months, two assailants who had shot at two men in Nallasopara were finally apprehended by the crime branch (unit III) of the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police after a dramatic chase on the roads of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.
According to the police, the shoot-out was reported outside Q-n-Q Bar located in the Moregaon area of Nallasopara (east) on February 14, 2021. Baliram Gupta who runs a mobile shop and his friend Rajkumar Gupta were indulged in a binge session on a handcart outside the bar when some unidentified men arrived on a bike and opened fire on the duo.
While Baliram, who sustained minor injuries, managed to flee the spot, four rounds were fired at Rajkumar out of which three hit him on the back and one bullet went blank, police said. The assailants had also mounted multiple attacks on Rajkumar with a sharp-edged weapon. Both were fortunate to survive the bid on their life.
Less than 36 hours after the shootout the police had arrested Salman Shaikh and Chandrashekhar Gupta for their involvement in the crime. Investigations revealed that Chandrashekhar had hired the shooters to eliminate Rajkumar Gupta to avenge his brother's killing. However, their three more accomplices managed to dodge the police for nearly 16 months.
On the virtue of technical surveillance, a team led by Police Inspector Pramod Badhakh under the supervision of DCP (Crime) Vijaykant Sagar, arrested Rajkumar Kushwaha and Dhiraj Yadav after a dramatic 15 km chase between Jaunpur and Varanasi on Thursday. Their interrogation led to the arrest of another person identified as Roshan Mandal from Vasai for facilitating their escape from the city. An offence under sections 307 of the IPC and relevant sections of the Arms Act has been registered against the accused who have been remanded to custody. The Tulinj police are conducting further investigations into the case.
