6 attack store, want case against actor withdrawn

Ghaziabad: A group of six masked men allegedly fired at a store in Shopprix Mall where TV actor Ansh Arora was involved in a brawl last week and threatened the employees to withdraw a police complaint against him.
Police said the attackers, armed with pistols and hockey sticks, also damaged goods worth Rs 20 lakh, which would require the store to remain closed for a few days. The staff alleged that the miscreants barged into the store around 1.55am and fired at least 10 shots. The allegedly pointed a gun at the manager of the store and told him “Ansh bhai ke khilaf report karwayi toh koi nahi bachega (If you report against Ansh bhai, none of you will be alive)”. The accused also demanded DVR of the CCTV footage which shows the actor involved in a brawl on the intervening night of May 11 and 12.
Ansh, who has worked in several TV serials, including Ekta Kapoor’s Kasam Tere Pyaar Ki, had visited the store last week and had ordered a hotdog. The actor was apparently asked to wait for over an hour, which led to an argument between him and the staff. Ansh, who alleged that the staff misbehaved with him, flew into a rage and broke a few computer sets kept on the counter. He went to the store the next day to apologise for his behaviour, but was detained along with his brother.
Ansh has alleged that police subjected him and his brother to “third-degree” torture in their custody and has written to the Prime Minister, National Human Rights Commission, chief minister and the police chief, seeking their intervention.
On Monday, manager Abhinav alleged that the six miscreants barged into the store around 1.55am.
“I was having my dinner when a shot was fired at the main gate of the store. Within seconds, a few masked men, armed with pistols and hockey sticks, barged into the shop and started beating up the employees. They broke whatever they could lay their hands on. They even shattered the glass wall by firing at it,” said Abhinav, at whom one of the attackers pointed a gun.
“There were around 10 customers at the store at that time. They fled hearing the shots. All along, the attackers kept shouting that no one will be spared if the complaint against Ansh Arora was not withdrawn,” he added.
A senior official at the store said goods worth Rs 20 lakh had been damaged and they would need to keep the store shut for some time. He said a police complaint had been lodged.
“We have CCTV footage of the entire episode and it will be handed over to police for investigation. We want strict action against the accused,” the official added.
Meanwhile, Ansh has posted a statement on Instagram, claiming Ghaziabad police might try to frame him in a false case. “There is a threat to my life and I am not being able to come out of my house,” he says in a video.
The actor also alleged that police were putting pressure on him to take back the complaint of “third-degree” torture at Indirapuram police station. Police are probing the allegation.
SP (city) Shlok Kumar said that police received information about the attack on the store around 2am, following which two police teams were sent there. But by then, the six miscreants had fled the spot.
“On the basis of a complaint filed by the store’s employees, an FIR against Ansh Arora and five to six other unidentified persons has been registered under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees), 452 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the IPC at Indirapuram police station on Monday. However, no one has been arrested as of now,” he added.