New Delhi: Vedant Khodankar, a resident of Mayur Vihar, parked his vehicle in front of advocate Shyam Singh Chauhan’s residence to play badminton at a nearby park. Upon his return, he found another car blocking his exit and approached Chauhan to remove it. Chauhan allegedly refused, leading to a confrontation where Khodankar lightly damaged Chauhan’s car.
A lawyer in Mayur Vihar, East Delhi, reportedly fired at a 23-year-old man for parking in front of his house, according to the police. Fortunately, the intended victim escaped unharmed, but a bullet pierced his vehicle, resulting in an attempted murder charge.
The incident, which took place in Pocket E of Mayur Vihar on April 14 at around 10 pm, highlights a concerning trend in the city, where disputes over congested parking spaces in residential areas often escalate into violent altercations.
In 2023, Delhi Police received 7,328 calls related to violent parking disputes, a significant increase from previous years. Tragically, several injuries and three deaths have been attributed to such disputes.
In this recent case, the accused, 38-year-old Shyam Singh Chauhan, was remanded to judicial custody after being apprehended on April 16. Chauhan allegedly opened fire at Vedant Khodankar, another Mayur Vihar resident, who had parked his car outside Chauhan’s home before engaging in a game of badminton.
Khodankar informed the police that upon his return, he found his exit blocked by another car. When he asked Chauhan to move it, a verbal altercation ensued, resulting in Khodankar denting Chauhan’s black SUV. According to the FIR, heated exchanges occurred between the two parties.
Subsequently, Chauhan reportedly retrieved a firearm and fired at Khodankar and his friend as they attempted to leave in their car, causing a bullet to penetrate the vehicle’s rear window.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Apoorva Gupta stated that based on the complaint, Chauhan was charged under Section 307 (attempted murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant sections of the Arms Act. Chauhan was arrested on April 16 after a police raid at his residence, where he was found attempting to flee with the weapon to avoid arrest.
During the raid, a licensed firearm, three live cartridges, and an empty cartridge were seized. Authorities confirmed that the firearm’s license was valid.
Chauhan, who holds an LLM degree and operates his own law firm called Singh & Company Law Firm, was identified as the accused, according to police sources.
