Jalandhar: Assailants fire shots at store, demand Rs 5 crore from owner

At least 15 shots were fired by some unidentified assailants at a mobile phone showroom on the bus stand road in Kapurthala this morning. The incident has sent shockwaves across the district. The assailants handed over a paper carrying names of two Haryanvi gangsters and demanded a hefty amount of money from the store owner, before fleeing the site.

The police say the firing was evidently carried out in a bid to extort money, but nothing conclusive could be said as yet.

Two unidentified bike-borne men (their faces covered) came to the area. They parked their bike at some distance and walked up to the Malhotra Infocomm (MIC) showroom around 10 am. They then fired at least 15 shots at the showroom, damaging the glass panes. However, no one was injured in the incident. The incident has been captured on CCTV cameras installed in the store. After firing the shots, the masked men handed over a piece of paper to the staff and fled. The paper bears the name of Haryanavi gangsters Kaushal Chaudhary and Saurav Gandoli. They have reportedly demanded Rs 5 crore from the store owner.

The Kapurthala police maintained that the attack was an extortion bid. An FIR has been registered against the assailants at the Urban Estate police station in Kapurthala.

The police said the men were carrying a .32 bore pistol and that they fired 15-16 rounds.

SP (Investigation), Kapurthala, Sarbjit Rai said, “The names of gangsters Kaushal Chaudhary and Saurav Gandoli, both of whom are in jail, were written on the paper handed over to the showroom staff by the assailants. Speaking Harayanvi, they also made a demand for money from the store owner. The store owner hadn’t received any threat call from any gangster before this incident.”