CHARKHI DADRI:Gunmen fired around 30 rounds at seven persons on a busy street outside City police station in Haryana’s Charkhi Dadri on Thursday. The brazen daylight attack, barely 200m from the court complex, triggered questions about policing.All the victims were severely injured. Visuals of the attack and aftermath show the attackers charging down Tehsil Road, pistols drawn, and the victims bloodied and in shock. Despite a naka and a police station within metres, all the gunmen got away.Police suspect a gang rivalry but are exploring other angles as well, said an officer.An audio attributed to gangster Rohit Godara surfaced on social media, where his aide, Naveen Boxer, purports to say in Hindi, “We carried out the attack on Amit Fateh Gadia, in which two of his associates were killed. We take responsibility for it.”The speaker warns, “All of you listen carefully. This fight has just begun. Whoever supports him will be our direct enemy.”SP Lokesh Kumar dismissed this claim and told TOI the truth would be known once the suspects were caught and interrogated. DSP Kaptaan said the Rohit Godara outfit repeatedly made such claims just to stay in the limelight.The seven victims were headed for a court date — three of them were accused in a case and the others were accompanying them. Around noon, the three gunmen intercepted their SUV and blazed away with pistols.Bullets shattered the SUV windscreen, pierced its metal and struck the occupants. The gunfire triggered panic in the area. The gunmen took advantage of the chaos to escape.Police and passersby took the victims to Civil Hospital from where their families moved them to private hospitals in Rohtak. One of them, Hisar native Kirtiman, has since been shifted to Medanta, Gurgaon.The others are Ankit (Charkhi Dadri), Suraj (Manheru), Ankit (Bhiwani), Sunny (Hisar), Krishna (Mahendragarh) and Amit (Fatehgarh).Police immediately sealed off the area and launched a search for the assailants. DSP Dheeraj Kumar said five SITs had been constituted to crack the case.“Preliminary findings suggest the shooting appears to be linked to gang rivalry but investigation is at a very early stage.”A forensic team collected evidence from the scene, and investigators are examining CCTV footage to identify and track the shooters.
