Three gunshots at dawn spur panic at Jopling Road

LUCKNOW: Unidentified men drove into Jopling Road in a black SUV, fired three rounds in the air and sped away early on Saturday, triggering considerable panic among residents of the elite neighbourhood.
Police have recovered three empty shells and sent them for forensic examination. They have also collected CCTV camera footage and are trying to corroborate eyewitness accounts.
According to an FIR registered on the complaint of eyewitness Aviral Gupta, a state-level cricketer, the incident took place around 4am.
Gupta, a native of Uttarakhand who is in Lucknow visiting a family friend, told TOI he and two others were returning after having tea near Civil Hospital when they spotted four youths in an SUV. “All of a sudden, one of them who had covered his face with a handkerchief fired in the air with a gun. The SUV sped away after that. The men must have been in their mid-twenties. Three shots were fired. I immediately dialled 100,” Aviral said.
While Aviral said he saw just one vehicle, security guard Russell Henry Jones who was night duty at a nearby apartment told TOI that he saw 10-12 people in two SUVs around 3am. “They left after an hour, but came back within five minutes and fired three bullets,” the guard said.
Another resident said he heard three gunshots. “I came out of my house once a crowd gathered. We saw three bullet shells,” he said.
Superintendent of police (East) Suresh Chandra Rawat said police reached the spot within 10 minutes. “Three empty cartridges were recovered from the spot. We are examining surveillance camera footage and verifying the complainant’s account. There may be more to the firing story than meets the eye. We are looking at the trigger behind the incident,” Rawat added.