Indian tourist among 2 people killed in shootout in Thailand
Bangkok, Oct 8 : A 42-year-old Indian was among two foreign tourists killed and five others, including two Indians, seriously injured in a shootout between two rival gangs here, Thai Police said Monday.
The shooting took place last night on a street behind Centara Watergate Pavillion hotel in Ratchathewi district, where tourist coaches were parked, 'Bangkok Post' reported.
Gakhrejr Dheeraj, an Indian, and Keovongsa Thonekeo, 28, a Lao tourist, died at a hospital where other injured are undergoing treatment.
The five people injured in the crossfire were two Thais, two Indians and one Lao. All were taken to a nearby hospital, the report said, quoting police officials.
The Indians were part of a group of tourists who had just had their dinner at an Indian restaurant in the mall and were waiting for their bus at the parking lot.
While they were there, two groups of young men emerged from a nearby snooker club into an alley just beside the parking lot, said police Major General Senit Samararn Samruajkit.
They began a fight that quickly escalated into an armed battle, Samruajkit said.
According to eyewitnesses, around 20 men armed with pistols, knives and sticks ran from the club into the street, he said, adding that three men also opened fire.
The gang members fled as the police arrived at the scene, and none of them was apprehended. Police have yet to identify the type of rifles used, but spent shells from the AK47 assault rifle were found at the scene.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
