Two persons died while two others were injured after some youths opened fire at the staff of a garment shop in a mall in Varanasi on Wednesday, police said.
The incident took place at the JHV Shopping Mall in the high-security Cantonment area of the city. The suspects, alleged to be students of the Kashi Vidyapeeth University, have been identified.
Fight with salesmen
The three suspects entered the store and one of them, identified as Alok Upadhyay, inquired about a salesman named Prashant. The suspect then got involved in a brawl with the other staff but was soon overpowered.
A country-made pistol he was carrying was also snatched away, said a witness.
Vivek Tripathi, Uttar Pradesh police spokesperson, said after finding their friend overpowered, the other two youths tried to rescue him and fired shots at the salesmen and in the air.
Two injured
Two persons, Gopi Kanaujia and Sunil Kumar, died of bullet injuries, while two others — Vishal Singh and Chandan Sharma — were admitted to hospital and are said to be stable, police said.
“They also fired shots indiscriminately in the mall, after exiting the store,” said one of the witnesses.
While initially police was told that the firing was triggered by a dispute over discount, a police statement in the evening hinted at personal enmity.
