ADILABAD: Tension broke out in Adilabad town on Friday evening when a petty quarrel between two groups while playing cricket, resulted in an AIMIM leader firing his gun. While the teens were fighting over the game, their parents got into a scuffle.
Farooq Ahmed, a former vice-chairman of Adilabad municipality, fired his licensed .32mm pistol leaving two persons with bullet injuries. Another person was also injured in the quarrel when Farooq stabbed him with a knife.
While it is not yet confirmed as to how many rounds Farooq fired, police said Syed Sameer received two bullet injuries, Syed Mouthesin received one bullet wound and Syed Mannan received stab injuries. "The victims are out of danger and the accused, Farooq, has been arrested and produced in court. He is in possession of a licensed weapon. We have written to the District Magistrate to cancel his weapon licence," said Adilabad ASP Rajesh Chandra.
It is also rumoured that an old political rivalry between Farooq Ahmed, who is MIM's Adilabad district chief, and the opposite party led to the firing. Farooq, who had contested in the recent municipal elections, lost to an Independent candidate. He was of the opinion that a TRS candidate was in the fray from the same ward, resulting in his loss. Since then, rivalry had been building up between both groups.
Meanwhile, on Friday evening, a few teens were playing cricket in an open area in Tatiguda locality. Midway, both groups entered into a heated argument over a pretty issue. As they were still arguing, parents of both groups rushed to the spot and started quarrelling.
Suddenly, Farooq pulled out his weapon and opened fire. It was learnt that while the arguments were going on, he touched upon the election issue and threatened the other party with dire consequences. As the fight continued, Farooq pulled his weapon and started firing indiscriminately, resulting in the incident. Police said that they are also verifying the role of other persons in provoking other group resulting in the quarrel, followed by firing.