Ghaziabad: Armed assailants barged into the house of a cloth trader in Loni area of Ghaziabad and opened fire on four members of family, killing three, including a father and his two sons. An elderly woman has also been critically injured in the incident that took place on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday.
As per police, the deceased have been identified as Riyazuddin alias Riyaz (70) and his two sons — Azharuddin (30) and Imraan (28). Riyaz's wife Fatima (65), was also shot by assailants and she has been getting treatment at a private hospital in Noida where doctors have stated her condition to be critical.
A senior police officer said that at the time of incident, a total of five members of the family were present but criminals shot only four of them. Azharuddin's wife Afsana, who is four months pregnant, was the one who was left unharmed by the assailants, the officer said.
Riyaz lived in Toli Mohalla in Loni along with his six sons and wife. While Azharuddin and Imraan used to live with him, his other four sons- Salimuddin, Alamuddin, Nizam and Riyat, live in the same locality and all are into cloth trading.
As per Alamuddin, second son of Riyaz, the incident took place around 2.50 am as he heard the sound of gunshot and he immediately rushed towards his father's house. "As the main gate of house was locked from inside, I kept on shouting to open the door along with other brothers and neighbours. After 15-20 minutes past the incident, Afsana had opened the gate and I saw that my father, mother and two younger brothers lying in the pool of blood. Immediately, we checked the pulse of all people and found that my father and both brothers were dead while my mother was still alive. We rushed her to a nearby private hospital for medical attention and later she was referred to Fortis hospital in Noida," he said.
Riyaz sustained two bullets to his head while one bullet hit Fatima's face. After listening to the sound of gunshot, Azharuddin and his wife along with Imran stepped down and the assailants shot at them as well. Azharuddin was shot near his heart and one bullet hit Imraan's head.
The family said that they have found cash and gold items were missing. "We have given a complaint to police and demanded a tough action against those who are responsible for the incident," said Alamuddin.
Following the incident, Praveen Kumar, IG Meerut, Amit Pathak, DIG and Dr. Iraj Raza, SP Rural along with senior officers reached the crime scene.
Omprakash Singh, SHO of Loni police station said that during questioning Afsana, she told police that one person came through the terrace and opened fire at the family. "She said that the accused also tried to kill her but the pistol somehow got stuck and spring of the pistol came out. When accused tried to fix the pistol, the neighbours and other sons of Riyaz started knocking on the door and the accused fled from the spot through terrace," Singh said.
"Interrogations revealed that the accused is a relative and also lived in the same locality. So far, we didn't get any evidence of dacoity in the house and it looks like a personal enmity between two people" he added.
Amit Pathak, DIG and SSP of Ghaziabad police said that police teams had examined the crime scene along with a forensic team and dog squad. "Police are checking the CCTV footage of nearby areas to trace the culprits and four teams have been formed to nab the accused in the case" he added.