One held for buying gun from firing case accused

Rajkot: Hitesh Zala, one of the three accused arrested for allegedly firing on builder Girish Der in Jamnagar, has confessed to having sold a firearm to one Imran Sandhi. Following this, Jamnagar local crime branch (LCB) arrested Sandhi on Saturday.
“Sandhi, a resident of Kalavad, said that he had bought a pistol from Zala at Rs 40,000 a year ago. He said that as his brother Iqbal was jailed in a murder case in 2014, he felt the need of a firearm to protect himself from the enemies, the kin of the murder victim,” said an official from Jamnagar LCB.
“During the prison term of Iqbal, Sandhi and Zala came in contact with each other. Sandhi expressed concern over threat to his life and Zala suggested that he buy a pistol from him,” added the official.
Zala was arrested along with Sanjay Barad and Pravin Tako. The trio had allegedly fired two rounds at Der (50) in Krishna Park Society near Lalpur bypass on the outskirts of Jamnagar on July 3. However, the bullets had missed the target. In self defence, Der also fired three rounds from his licensed revolver, he also missed the target.
In his complaint, Der alleged that a land scam accused Jayesh Ranparia had sent the assailants to kill him. Ranparia, who is believed to have fled to Dubai.