JOIN USTwo men were shot at in a clash between two groups over sand mining on the banks of Yamuna at north Delhi’s Wazirabad on Sunday night. Two men were arrested while five others are still absconding, police said.
Two of the five men who were attacked are allegedly associated with the Samajwadi Party.
Pramod Yadav, one of the injured men who received a bullet injury in his right foot, is the brother of a SP leader from Noida Rakesh Yadav. The other victim, Rahul Gupta, was shot in his left foot.
A police officer told Deccan Herald that the people who were attacked were hired by a company that had got a sub-contract from a Mumbai-based company to extract sand from Yamuna’s riverbed in the area.
The Delhi Jal Board has entered into a contract with the company to remove the sand islands and other waste materials gathered there.
The sand islands had been blocking the flow of water from Yamuna to Wazirabad water treatment plant.
The sub-contractor had hired another person, also named Pramod, to get a route created for movement of vehicles from the main road to the mining area.
A Delhi Police source said Pramod was revealed to be a local criminal from Jagatpur village near Wazirabad and he and his accomplices were given the responsibility of ensuring that no problem cropped up during the mining process.
However, the two groups had been having some issues over selling of the mined sand.
“Pramod Yadav and his four accomplices on Sunday night decided to meet the other Pramod’s group and sort out the issues,” the officer said.
While the accused and his friends came by a tractor, the other Pramod came with his men in an SUV.
The discussion soon turned violent with the two groups indulging in a fistfight.
“Pramod pulled out a pistol and fired at Yadav and Gupta. We received a PCR call at 9 pm and rushed the victims to the Sushruta trauma centre,” the officer added.
The accused had fled in their tractor by then.
The injured were moved to a private hospital in Noida on the advice of doctors.
A case of attempt to murder was registered with Timarpur police station and the two accused arrested on Monday morning.
The main accused Pramod continues to abscond.