Builder, friend shot at near Mumbai, two arrested

A builder was injured and his friend escaped unhurt when the latter's sacked employee fired at them at Virar in neighbouring Thane district, police said on Tuesday.

The entire firing episode was caught on the CCTV camera installed at the bungalow of the Kuldeep Choudhary, who is also a builder, who escaped unhurt in the incident, making it the second firing incident captured on camera in the last one month.

On February 16, a controversial builder Sunil Kumar Loharia from neighbouring Navi Mumbai city, was shot dead by two assailants and the brutal murder was captured on the CCTV which became a crucial piece of evidence for the police.

Giving details of the Virar firing case, the police said Choudhary, along with his friend Harishankar Dubey, returned home at Manvel Pada area at 1.40 am today after watching  a movie.

As the duo alighted from the car, two motorcyclists appeared before them and one of them started firing. While Choudhary escaped the firing, his friend Dubey sustained injuries on his leg.

The accused fired four rounds before escaping from the spot, the police said. During the probe, the two accused, later identified as Mehul Chodankar and Chandu Patil were nabbed, police said adding that the former had been sacked after Choudhary suffered a loss of Rs 5 lakh because of him.

Choudhary had been demanding Rs five lakh from Chodankar, who in turn conspired to kill the builder, police said.