Two arrested after friend shot in ‘reckless play’ at late-night gathering in Narol

A gathering of three friends in Narol late night on Monday took a dangerous turn after a country-made pistol accidentally went off during what the police described as “reckless play”, leaving a 26-year-old man severely injured. The Narol police have arrested two men including a private bank relationship manager for allegedly possessing an illegal firearm and attempting to mislead investigators.

According to the police, the incident occurred around 12.30 am when Siddharth Singh Sunilsinh Bhoomihar, a private bank PRO, had invited his friends Dharmesh Nakubhai Mishra and Rohit alias Ritik Bholeram Prajapati, a rickshaw driver, to his residence for dinner. During the gathering, the trio began inspecting a country-made pistol that Siddharth had allegedly acquired illegally from a local resident, Shankar Yadav.

Pistol went off while being ‘checked’, bullet grazed victim’s head

Investigators said that all three friends were examining the firearm “out of curiosity”. While the weapon did not fire during earlier checks, it went off when Rohit allegedly pulled the trigger again, causing a bullet to strike Dharmesh above his ear. He was rushed to hospital, where doctors later declared him out of danger.

ACP (K Division) Yuvrajsinh Gohil said the firing was accidental but stemmed from the accused men’s deliberate involvement with an illegal weapon.

Accused first tried to mislead police with ‘roadside firing’ story

In an attempt to evade police action, Siddharth and Rohit initially claimed that the firing took place outside, during an argument with occupants of a Scorpio vehicle attempting to overtake them. However, inconsistencies in their statements led officers to question them further.

“During sustained interrogation, the accused confessed that the firing happened inside Siddharth’s house,” the ACP said.

Police officials added that Siddharth, who lives alone due to his mother’s ill health, admitted he fabricated the story to avoid informing his family about the incident.

Illegal pistol sourced from local supplier; third man detained

Police investigations revealed that Siddharth had procured the weapon from Shankar Yadav, a Narol resident who has now been detained. The firearm is suspected to have been discarded by the accused after the incident, and police teams are carrying out recovery operations.

The Narol police have registered offences under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act, including charges of possessing an illegal weapon, causing grievous injury through negligence and misleading the police.

Both Siddharth Singh and Rohit Prajapati have been arrested, while further investigation into the source of the weapon, its past use and possible links to other offences is under way.