PUNE: An
eatery manager
(31) suffered a bullet wound in
firing
and sharp weapon injuries as seven men attacked him at the joint opposite Agrasen High School in
Yerawada
an hour past Thursday midnight.
"The
gang
of seven demanded Rs 20,000 '
hafta
' (protection money) from the victim,
Vicky Raju Chandaliya
, before attacking him. Vicky and his brother, Rahul, jointly manage the eatery on behalf of its owner, a woman," inspector (crime) Rahul Jagdale of the Yerawada police said.
Five of the assailants have been arrested on charges of attempted murder, assault and extortion, among others, following a complaint lodged by the victim's brother, Rahul.
"They are Akshay Chandaliya (24), Aman Chandaliya (27), Abhishek Chandaliya (27), Sandesh Jadhav (18) and Sushant Kamble (29). One of their accomplices, Sanket Taru, is on the run. The main suspect, Akash Chandaliya, has been admitted to the Sassoon General Hospital for treatment of a head injury suffered in a fight when Vicky and his helper at the eatery tried to resist the gang members," he said.
This is the fourth firing incident in the city this week. Two men had made an attempt to fire at a real estate developer on JM Road on Monday. A security service provider fired at his business rival over a quarrel related to poaching of employees at Shewalewadi in the Hadapsar area on Wednesday.
A decorator from Warje suffered a bullet injury after two men fired a couple of bullets at him at Bhumkar Chowk around 2.15am on Thursday following a quarrel over some trivial matter at a bar near Navale bridge.
Police inspector Jagdale said, "Some of the assailants, including Akash from Range Hills in Shivajinagar, are distant relatives of Vicky and Rahul. They have known each other since their childhood."
He said, "Akash fired three bullets at Vicky. Two of them missed the target and one hit the victim on the right side above the waist."
Additional commissioner of police (east region) Manoj Patil told TOI, "There are two probable motives behind the firing. First is 'hafta'. Second, not getting a share of the income from a property the victim and his family members have rented out. Akash is a criminal on record of the Lonavala police since 2013. We are questioning the arrested men to recover the firearm and trace its source."
Jagdale said, "Akash was released on bail in a murder case from the Yerawada jail around six months ago. He had a grudge against the victim and his brother for not offering financial help when he was in jail."
Apart from the bullet injury, Vicky suffered sharp weapon injuries on his back and head. He is undergoing treatment in a private hospital. His condition was reported by the doctors as stable, the police said.
The victim and his helper were cleaning the facility before pulling down the shutter when the gang reached the spot and demanded money from Vicky. They started a fight when Vicky refused to pay them. His helper also suffered injuries when he tried to intervene, the police said.
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