By IANS,
Lucknow : Two businessmen were killed and six were critically injured when a gang of criminals opened indiscriminate fire in a busy market in Bagpat district of Uttar Pradesh late Wednesday evening, police said.
The four or five men fired at shopkeepers in Thatheri Mandi of Bagpat, 300 km from here, and escaped, officials said.
“Some criminals were extorting weekly ‘charges’ from businessmen of the locality. Due to a strict police vigil, they were not able to extort money for the past month and the incident appears to be a result of our strict vigil,” inspector Javahar Lal of the Kotwali police station told IANS on telephone.
“According to witnesses, the criminals were on three motorcycles and we have launched a search throughout the district to nab them,” he added.