Man fires in air at Gardens Galleria mall after pub brawl

A visitor to a pub at the Gardens Galleria mall in Noida’s Sector 38 allegedly fired his weapon in the air on the mall premises following a brawl inside the pub that broke out while dancing on Sunday night, senior police officers said on Monday, adding that they are investigating how he managed to sneak a gun in, bypassing the heavy police presence in the area and also the mandatory checks.

Police on Monday arrested three people in connection with the firing and booked them on charges of attempt to murder.

According to police, a preliminary investigation has revealed that on Sunday night, three friends had gone to a pub at the Gardens Galleria mall. They entered into a heated argument with another group of three friends after one of the men in the first group allegedly brushed past a person of the second group while dancing.

Complainant Amit Kumar, 30, who hails from Baghpat and resides in Noida, said, “On Sunday around 11.30pm, my friends Amar, Vishal and I had come for a party to a pub at Gardens Galleria mall. When dancing, my leg accidentally touched another man’s leg who was also dancing in the pub.”

“The man started abusing and assaulting me in anger. When pub security spotted the fight, they intervened and asked him and his two friends to leave the pub,” Kumar said in the complaint.

He further said, “After a few minutes, when I and my two friends were leaving the pub, the man who assaulted me and his friends were standing by his SUV (MG Hector). In anger, he approached us, carrying a pistol in his hands, and fired a shot in the air. We somehow managed to save ourselves and exited the mall premises though gate number 12.”

After firing in the air, the suspect and his friends fled in their SUV after breaking through the barriers placed at the mall entrance. Later, Kumar reported the matter to police on emergency helpline number 112. “On his complaint, a case under sections 109(1) (attempt to murder), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), and 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered against the suspects,” said Manish Kumar Mishra, additional deputy commissioner of police, Noida.

The ADCP further said, “On Monday, we arrested three suspects from near GIP Mall in Noida following an extensive search. The suspects have been identified as Sanchit Bansal, Yash Mittal, and Shikhar Sharma, all residents of Bulandshahr.”

Police also recovered a pistol from their possession and seized their SUV. Police are verifying whether the pistol was licensed weapon.

On July 15, two constables of Ghaziabad police were arrested after one of them misfired a weapon in the parking lot of Gardens Galleria mall.

Syed Shameem Anwar, associate director at Entertainment City, Sector 38-A, did not respond to calls or messages seeking a comment on the matter.