MUMBAI: A man narrowly escaped death after three men allegedly arrived in an aggregator cab and opened fire at him near SIWS College in Wadala West on Saturday night. The attackers fired three rounds at the victim as he walked along the road before fleeing, but he escaped unhurt.
The Matunga police arrested two of the three alleged assailants from Antop Hill within an hour of the incident and seized firearms and live ammunition from them. Preliminary investigations suggest that the attack may have been triggered by a personal vendetta, though the police are yet to establish the exact motive. Following the firing, the police traced the cab driver, who claimed he had no knowledge of the shooting. The police subsequently tracked down and arrested two suspects from Antop Hill within an hour. The arrested men have been identified as Hamza Khan and Ali alias Dawood Khan, both residents of Himmat Nagar in Wadala. The police seized two pistols, including a country-made firearm, commonly known as a desi katta, along with live ammunition from them. The police are investigating whether an existing dispute between them led to the attack and are searching for the third accused.
Personnel from the Matunga police station, Crime Branch Unit 4 and DCP (Zone 4) Anurag Jain rushed to the spot and launched a search for the accused. The arrested men have been booked under Section 109 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which deals with attempt to murder.
The victim and the accused are all originally from Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh, officers said.
He managed to escape without sustaining any injuries.
The trio arrived in an aggregator cab near SIWS College at Char Rasta on RA Kidwai Road and fired three rounds at the victim, identified as Soheb, a resident of Sangam Nagar in Wadala TT, according to witnesses.
