‘Extortion scare’ in Kapurthala, two masked men shoot at cell phone shop

At least 15 to 16 shots were fired by two unidentified masked men inside a luxury mobile showroom on Bus Stop Road in Kapurthala on Monday morning. The incident, believed to be an extortion attempt, sent shockwaves across the district.

Officials said the attackers gave the store employees a piece of paper with the names of two Haryana gangsters, Kaushal Chaudhary and Saurav Gandoli, before fleeing the premises. They have reportedly demanded an amount of Rs 5 crore.

According to police, the attackers arrived on a bike with their faces covered and fired indiscriminately at the showroom of Malhotra Infocomm (MIC) around 10 am. The glass panes of the exhibition room were completely shattered. No one was injured in the incident.

Police said based on preliminary investigations, the attackers were armed with a .32 caliber pistol and about 15 cartridge cases were recovered from the showroom. The CCTV footage of the incident has also been retrieved, they added.

Kapurthala SP Investigation Sarbjit Rai said, “The names of gangsters Kaushal Chaudhary and Saurav Gandoli, both of whom are in jail, were written on the paper that the men handed over to the staff.” They spoke Harayanvi and also demanded money from the shop owner. We have registered a case and further investigation is underway.”

The shop owner had not received any phone threat from any gangster before this incident, he added.