Gurgaon: A 24-year-old man was shot dead on Monday afternoon by two unidentified people who fired 22 rounds at him in front of a lawyer’s house, where he had gone to pick up a vehicle.
The incident took place in Feroze Gandhi Nagar, one of Old City’s most crowded and congested areas. Police said it may have been a case of ‘mistaken identity’ and the man was most likely in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The victim, Manish, a resident of Basai, was a dairy owner and also used to rent out tempos. Police said around 12 noon, he arrived at the house of one of his acquaintances, a lawyer who practises in Gurgaon district court, on a two-wheeler to borrow his SUV for some personal work. After a few minutes, he came out of the house with the key. He had just entered the SUV and was about to start its engine when two unidentified youths appeared, pulled out guns and started firing indiscriminately. Manish, who sustained 15 bullet injuries all over his body, died on the spot.
Police said CCTV footage collected from houses in the area shows the suspects, with their faces covered, firing at the victim with two pistols and then walking away. After this, several residents can be seen gathering at the spot.
“We are trying to ascertain the motive behind the murder. Till now, we have not received any complaint from any of the victim’s family members,” said ACP (crime) Preet Pal Sangwan.
A case was registered on Monday evening against unknown persons under sections 302 (murder) and 34 (common intentions) of the IPC and sections of the Arms Act at the New Colony police station. Initial investigation revealed Manish did not have any personal enmity or dispute with anyone. “There was no reason for anyone to kill him. He never did any harm to anyone and was very polite,” said his relative.
Cops indicated Manish might not have been the actual target. “It could be a case of mistaken identity. The youths may have come to target the lawyer but killed the dairy owner instead because he was taking out his SUV. We are looking at all possibilities but we’ll know for certain only after the suspects are arrested,” said a police source. The lawyer, he added, has a chequered past. In 2012, he was involved in a dispute that had led to the murder of a person. A case had been registered at the Sector 5 police station in the matter.