12 arrested in gun-firing incident inside Mumbai club

Amboli police on Monday arrested 12 persons, including a businessman from Haryana, for allegedly firing their guns inside a high-end club in Andheri and being in possession of six weapons.

According to police, the incident took place in the wee hours of Sunday when Rakesh Kalra, 40, a businessman from Panipat, along with his friends and bodyguards, was partying at the club.

“A shot was fired by Mahendra Mallick who was with the group from his 315 bore rifle. The bullet hit the plywood on the right side of the stage. The whole incident, which put others at the venue at risk, was not reported to the police,” said a police officer.

The police reached the spot on Monday afternoon after receiving information about the incident. Sources said that the accountant and a security guard were questioned about the incident. Seven people were arrested from the club, including staff, for not reporting the matter to police.

A team headed by officer Daya Nayak raided a place in Vakola where five suspects were staying and arrested them at night. They seized six high-end guns and two cars from the accused. Sources said that the guns were not registered with Mumbai Police and the group could not give an adequate reason for possessing them.

During the investigation, the accused said that they misfired the bullet. “There is a possibility that the group got into a fight with someone and fired a warning shot but we have not found any evidence regarding that yet. We have requested for police custody to find that out,” said an officer.

Police sources said that Kalra is the son of a businessman who owns a milk-foods factory in Panipat. “The group came to Mumbai by road. We are investigating how they were able to get the weapons inside the city’s territory,” said the officer.