Wine shop manager shot at,attackers flee despite cop chase

“As per the statements of Panjwani,he was at the counter when a man came and asked for a bottle of liqour. While he was fetching the bottle,suddenly another man entered and fired three rounds at him. The duo then fled in opposite directions. One of them was spotted by a beat marshall who was coming out of a bank near the shop,” said Additional Commissioner of Police,Central,Vineet Agarwal. Police constable Manohar Shendge saw a youth running even as crowd gathered outside the wine shop.

“I heard people shouting about the gunfire and immediately started chasing the youth. However,due to heavy traffic,it was tough to chase him,” said Shendge.

The assailant dropped his revolver while fleeing and it was later recovered by the police. Shendge along with locals rushed Panjwani to the KEM Hospital.

“While three rounds were fired,one hit Panjwani’s shoulder and the other brushed his hip. He is out of danger. Prima facie it does not appear as if robbery was the motive. We are investigating if someone has any vendetta against either the owner of the shop or Panjwani,” said senior inspector Vikram Patil of the Bhoiwada police station.

Meanwhile,Gulab Kukreja,the owner’s son,was at KEM Hospital to look after Panjwani.

“We have been running this shop for the past 10 years. No untoward incident was reported till last year. After the theft and robbery,this is the third such incident and is of more serious in nature. I’m concerned about my employees’ safety,” said Kukreja whose elderly father is in hospital after suffering brain haemorrhage. Prem Miskin,a member of the Maharashtra Wine Merchants Association,claimed that for the past few months attacks on wine shops have increased considerably.