Five rounds of bullets were fired in group clash near Gujarat’s Vadodara
Five persons were injured after close to two dozen men got into a fight and one opened fire at Vadodara’s Dumad junction on Monday, police said. Two people were injured while three were beaten up with sticks.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Bharat Rathod said that a brick factory owner from Savli area of Vadodara district had gone to Dumad to “Convince” a labourer to return to work, when some auto rickshaw drivers at the spot intervened and assaulted the owner.
“The brick factory owner was trying to convince the labourer and his wife to return to the factory for work. The labourer couple, however, were not keen on going back and an argument ensued. Meanwhile, some auto rickshaw driver, who were present at the site, joined in to support the labourers and asked the owner to leave. Soon, a heated argument took place and one of the drivers assaulted the factory owner. In no time, groups from both the sides of the drivers and the factory owner clashed with each other,” Rathod said.
The mob indulged in stone-pelting, beat each other with sticks and one of the accused even fired five rounds, Rathod said. Police said that the man who opened fired was in possession of a licensed weapon. Police have also denied any persisting rivalry between the two groups, despite allegations that the incident was related to alleged murder of an auto rickshaw driver in Ajwa road area earlier this month.
Rathod said, “This was spontaneous incident and has no connection with the previous case. Further probe is underway to establish if the labourers were bound by some contract that the factory owner was refusing to let them go. we are also probing the allegation of the factory owner that he was carrying Rs 1lakh on his person when the riot broke out which he claims was stolen in the ruckus.”
A FIR at Harni police station is underway. While the five injured were rushed to SSG hospital for treatment and are stable. Forensic teams have recovered five empty bullet shells from the spot.
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