In the underworld folklore, they say that gangsters never forget people who don’t return their money.
A firing incident which occurred at a property developer’s office on Tuesday could be one such instance. In a monetary dispute which could be more than 25-years-old, a builder was reportedly targeted by underworld goons, the police suspect.
The assailants fired two rounds inside the builder’s office situated at New Marine Lines. One of the rounds hit the builder’s bodyguard, who later succumbed to injuries in a hospital.
According to the police, two men aged about 25-years-old entered builder Manish Dolakiya’s office in Sharda chambers at around 3:45 pm and insisted on meeting him.
“The receptionist called up at Dholakia’s office on the third floor after which his bodyguard came down to speak with the two. However, the receptionist noticed the gun on one of the assailants and raised an alarm after which one of them shot the bodyguard, Ajit Arronkar, as he attempted to stop them from fleeing,” said deputy commissioner of police (Zone-1) Chering Dorjee.
The assailants allegedly fired two rounds at the guard and one bullet hit the right side his chest. Arronkar was rushed to the nearby Bombay hospital.
Investigators later found a shirt which reportedly belongs to one of the assailants. Following this, the dog-squad got into action and the sniffer dogs traced the trail to between platform no 1 and 2 of the Churchgate station. The police suspect that the accused took a train to get-away.
“The CCTV cameras installed in the building were working when the incident took place but they were not on recording mode. Technicians have now been called by the police in an attempt to retrieve footage. “Police recovered one country made pistol, six live bullets and two empty cartridges which were used,” said a police officer.
Initial investigations indicate that the firing could be a result of some monetary dispute which Dholakia’s father Mahesh is believed to have had with the underworld. When asked if the police are suspecting the incident to be the handiwork of some underworld gang, Dorjee, said, “We are investigating the incident from all angles.”
According to sources, Dholakia has told the police that he had not received any prior threats from the underworld. “We cannot say who might have been behind the attack. We will investigate all angles thoroughly,” said additional commissioner of police (crime) Deven Bharti.
(with inputs from Somendra Sharma)
