Ghaziabad: Police arrested two people following a gunfight on Friday for allegedly shooting at a bus on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME) on Monday.On Monday night, two men on a two-wheeler approached a private bus near High-Tech College in Masuri on the DME and opened fire, injuring the bus operator and the conductor.The bus’ owner, Mohamd Arif, subsequently filed a complaint in the case alleging that he had recently gotten into a fight with several members of an extortion gang led by a man named Wasid. He alleged the accused had demanded money from him to operate the bus and may have retaliated when he did not comply.DCP (rural) Surendra Nath Tiwari said that police teams and a SWAT unit were conducting checks near the PWD office during the early hours of Friday when they received a tip-off that the accused who fired at the bus were travelling from Hapur via Bhudgarhi Bamba on the same two-wheeler. Police teams then intensified checks in that area.“When signalled to stop, the accused turned the scooter around and sped off along the Bhudgarhi Bamba embankment toward an under-construction factory. Cops gave chase and, seeing themselves surrounded, the accused opened fire,” the DCP said.During retaliatory firing, accused Anas (26) suffered a bullet injury in the leg and was apprehended, while his accomplice Nadeem (23) was caught during combing. Police seized two pistols with a magazine of 32 bore, two live cartridges and three spent cartridges from the accused’s possession.During interrogation, the accused told cops that Wasid and Arif have had a rivalry for the past four years. Anas alleged Arif had sent him to jail in Delhi in a false case in the past. Four days prior, Arsalan, another accused who is absconding, had gotten into a fight with the bus’ conductor. Anas had allegedly gone to Wasid about the issues with Arif, and the leader had helped them form a plan and acquire weapons to shoot Arif while he was on the bus.Further investigation is underway and teams have been formed to nab the absconding accused, police said.
