Air India crew member shot dead by bike-borne men in UP's Noida

A 30-year-old crew member of Air India was shot dead allegedly by unidentified bike-borne men near a high-end market in Noida on Friday, the police said.

An official told PTI that the murder could be a fallout of a gang rivalry involving the family of the deceased, who has been identified as Suraj Mann.

The incident took place near the Sector 104 market when Mann came out of a gym and sat in his car.

The assailants soon arrived at the spot and one of them opened fire in the air while another shot at Mann.

Noida DCP Harish Chander said the Sector 39 police station was alerted about the incident at around 2.30 pm and a team was rushed to the crime spot.

"The man was taken to a nearby hospital but he did not survive," Chander said.

Mann, who worked as a crew member with Air India, lived as a tenant in the posh Lotus Panache society nearby, according to the police.

"The body has been sent for post-mortem and the man's family is being contacted," the DCP said.

He said an investigation has been launched into the case and efforts are underway to identify the accused.

A few members of Mann's family allegedly have a criminal history but he was not part of any acts of crime, according to sources.

The alleged murder could be a fallout of a gang rivalry involving the family, the official said.

"Mann's elder brother is accused in a murder case and currently lodged in a jail in Delhi. The police suspect the rival gang targeted Mann because of his family connections," he said.

The police are also investigating the gang rivalry angle in the case, the DCP added.

Eyewitnesses also recounted the horror of the mid-day shootout in the posh neighbourhood.

Mustafa, who runs a fast food cart in the market, said Mann was a regular visitor to the Any Time Fitness gym.

"After he came out of the gym, he sat in his car. He was eating bananas and barely after two minutes, three men on motorcycle reached there and attacked him," he said.

"One fired in the air and the other started firing shots at the glass window of the car. They fired at least eight to 10 rounds of bullet before fleeing the spot," Mustafa told reporters.