The bustling Linking Road between Bandra and Khar was plunged into a panic after unidentified men fired three gunshots outside a garments store and fled the scene.
According to the Khar police, the incident occurred at around 7.20 p.m. on Thursday. The police said that the two men arrived on a bike and stopped across the Gazebo Shopping Centre. Parking the bike, they crosses the street, walked up to the store and fired three rounds in the air. Even as panic erupted around them, the trio threw a letter on the ground and fled the scene.
The store manager immediately called up the police and teams were rushed to the spot. Within the hour, senior police officers, too, were present at the spot, which is a stone's throw away from the popular Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) outlet on Linking Road.
A 25-foot area outside the store was cordoned off using barricades and ropes, after which the police started inquires. Eyewitnesses were spoken to and every inch of the ground was searched in an attempt to find the spent cartridges of the bullets so that the weapon used could be identified. Due to poor lighting, police personnel were seen scouring the wet ground using the flashlight feature of their mobile phones.
Traffic police personnel, too, were called in to regulate traffic as the cordon took up a significant section of one lane of the busy road during peak hours.
Meanwhile, the letter thrown on the ground by the accused was examined. It contained a message in Hindi saying, "Whoever does business here will not be spared."
The police are currently making inquiries with the store owner and staff to find out whether there had been any recent disagreements related to business. Senior police inspector Mohan Mane, Khar police station said that no recent complaints had been received from the store in this regard.
Multiple teams are now scouring the road for Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras, not just at the spot but also in the direction that the assailants fled in.
"No injuries were reported in the incident and our investigations are underway," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Manjunath Singe, Zone IX.
The owner of the store left from the spot late on Thursday night. He declined to answer the Free Press Journal's queries on his way out.
