Three men, two of who were armed with guns, barged into an office on the second floor of Raheja Arcade in Koramangala and opened three rounds on the owner, on Saturday afternoon. The victim, Kanhaiyalal Agarwal of Farm India Impex Pvt. Ltd., escaped with injuries. He was rushed to St. John’s Hospital where doctors said he is out of danger.
According to the police, the assailants barged into the office around 2 p.m. after an argument with the victim’s sons. “We suspect that they are from Bihar and came with the intention of murdering Agarwal. Business rivalry could be the motive,” said a senior police officer.
The company purchases maize from farmers across the country and sells it to poultry farms. Kanhaiyalal’s son, Chirag, told the police that a year-and-a-half ago, they had started procuring maize seeds from Hasanpur in Bihar. Around two months ago, two men — Vibhuti Kumar Singh and Sanchi Kumar Singh from Hasanpur — approached Kanhaiyalal and warned him not to do business in their city.
“On Saturday, Chirag said his father got many calls from them, but did not answer the phone,” the police officer added.
Kanhaiyalal usually goes to his office in the afternoon. On Saturday, soon after he reached his office, the assailants barged in. A security guard stopped them at the door, but the men insisted on meeting Kanhaiyalal.
In their statements to the police, Chirag and his brother Rishi said they intervened and told the men that they did not have any job vacancy. “My father was in the glass cabin around 15 feet away from the entrance. One of the men took out a gun and shot my father through the glass,” Chirag told the police.
According to the police, another man also opened fire, but by then, Kanhaiyalal had taken cover under the table.
The bullet brushed past his head and hit a table.
Gunmen wore masks and helmets
The shooting caused panic on the second floor of the building, which houses several offices. A few people tried to give chase, but the trio managed to escape.
The police are questioning witnesses to reconstruct the events prior to the shooting.
Sidharth, an HR personnel with a consultancy firm across the corridor, heard the first shot around 2 p.m. “Before I could check, I saw staff of Kanhaiyalal rushing out of their office. They told me that three men were fleeing after opening fire at their boss,” he recalled.
All three men wore helmets and masks. “We have obtained clues from CCTV footage in the building. Three teams have been formed to track down the assailants,” said Seemant Kumar Singh, Additional Commissioner of Police (East).
Previous attacks in the city
May 2018: Masood Ali, 62, owner of a furniture shop on St. Marks Road, attacked by unidentified gunmen on the busy Assaye Road in Pulakeshinagar.
November 2016: Surendra Kumar Paruchuri, 55-year-old businessman, was shot dead by a man in front of his house in Sanjaya Nagar
August 2015: Chetan injured after being shot at by two men in his bar and restaurant on Residency Road