A gunshot fired over a parking related argument sparked panic in Bhandup late on Friday. Two people have been arrested in connection with the incident.

According to the police, the incident occurred around 10.50 p.m. on Friday at the Jangalmangal Road. The complainant, Arjun Yadav, was parking his car when Bholanath Gupta (40) and his nephew Ajay (19) accosted him.

“The Guptas and Mr. Yadav are all drivers by profession and have been embroiled in a dispute over parking space for several weeks. On Friday night, when Mr. Yadav was trying to park in a space that the Guptas wanted, they came over to where he was parking and started an argument. During this time, Mr. Bholanath took a country made pistol from his car and fired in Mr. Yadav’s direction,” an officer with the Bhandup police said.

While the round missed Mr. Yadav, the sound of the gunshot woke up residents of the area, who came out of their houses to investigate, and some also called the police control room.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bholanath tried to shoot at Mr. Yadav again but the gun jammed, and Mr. Yadav managed to wrestle it out of his hand.

By this time, some of the local residents came forward to help and restrained both the accused. The duo was handed over to a team from the Bhandup police station, which reached the spot within half an hour. The police recovered three live rounds and the gun from Mr. Bholanath’s car.

“We have arrested both the accused and charged them with attempt to murder under the Indian Penal Code along with possession of illegal arms and ammunition under the Arms Act. We are interrogating them to find out the source of the gun, and to check if it has been used in any other crimes in the past,” the officer said.