Shooters were in SUV stolen from Gurgaon

Ghaziabad: The health condition of Ghaziabad BJP heavyweight, Brijpal

Teotia

, remained critical on Friday, more than 24 hours after he was injured in a hail of gunfire unleashed on his convoy by assailants toting automatic weapons including AK-47s. He was admitted to Fortis Hospital in Sector 62 of Noida late on Thursday after Sarvodaya Hospital, Ghaziabad, referred him there when his condition deteriorated.

Many BJP leaders from across UP, as well as police officers, visited Teotia in the hospital on Friday. He has undergone surgery in the hospital, which released a bulletin on Friday saying Teotia has been kept on a life support system.

Police have retrieved one of the two Fortuner SUVs, allegedly used by the assailants in the shootout, from a field in the Niwadi police station area on Friday afternoon. Police said the assailants had abandoned the vehicle, which bore a fake registration plate, in the field while fleeing after committing the crime. The other vehicle used is yet to be traced.

ADG (law & order) Daljit Singh Chawdhary told TOI that the Fortuner that has been recovered has been traced to Gurgaon. “It had been stolen from the DLF Phase I police station area in Gurgaon on June 8, 2016. We are investigating the case from all possible angles. We are in the process of tracing the history of the victim. Our surveillance system is working actively to trace the culprits as we have major clues. The inspectors general of police of Meerut range and the special task force have been asked to camp in Ghaziabad to crack the case. No formal arrests have been made so far though police have detained several persons for questioning,” he said.

The Fortis bulletin said Teotia was brought to the hospital on Thursday night in a critical condition with multiple bullet injuries. “He was operated upon by a team of three surgical departments — department of cardio thoracic & vascular surgery, department of orthopedics and department of reconstructive surgery. The patient is on life support and his condition continues to be critical. Our doctors are monitoring the patient and are doing their best,” the statement said.

Apart from Teotia, two of his four private gunmen, Ashok and Rampal, who had also suffered bullet injuries in the shootout, have been admitted to Fortis. The remaining two gunmen, Vipin Singh (26) and Mohkam Singh Malik (47), are admitted to Sarvodaya Hospital in Kavi Nagar where their condition is said to be stable. Teotia’s close aide, Inderpal Singh (45), is also admitted to the ICU of Sarvodaya Hospital with gunshot injuries but is out of danger too.

On Friday, police registered an FIR against unidentified assailants in the Muradnagar police station on the basis of a formal complaint by gunman Mohkam Singh Malik.