‘You carry a gun… Does it work?’: Challenge at ‘liquor’ party leads to firing into Vadodara apartments; 6 arrested

4 min readVadodaraJul 3, 2026 07:08 PM IST

Empty liquor bottles have been recovered from the premises. (File Photo)

A FAMILY asleep inside their apartment in Vadodara’s Gotri-Bhayli area was jolted awake by gunshots after bullets tore through balcony glass, mosquito mesh and a wooden door before landing inside their living room in the early hours on Wednesday.

Within hours, the Vadodara police arrested six accused – who were allegedly having a liquor party when the licensed gun owner allegedly fired the rounds – attempting to “demonstrate” to friends that the weapon was functional.

The shots, fired shortly after 1 am on Wednesday, travelled nearly 200 metres and struck flats where residents were asleep. By daybreak, police had reconstructed the trajectory of the shots, analysed CCTV footage and arrested six men, including the licensed firearm holder who allegedly pulled the trigger in an apparent show of bravado.

Vadodara Superintendent of Police (SP) Sushilkumar Agrawal said that a detailed investigation was on and the police have initiated the process to request cancellation of the arms license of the accused. Agarwal said, “Around 1:10 am, the police control room received a call regarding firing. Two rounds had been fired at flats 101 and 301 in Aarna-48. Senior police officers reached the spot and an FIR was immediately registered under Section 109 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for attempt to murder and relevant sections of the Arms Act.”

Police subsequently raided offices numbered 8 and 9 in the building and found that a “liquor party” had been organised there. Agrawal said, “Trajectory analysis revealed that the firing originated from a building called Ashwamegh Avenue in the vicinity… we learnt that a liquor party had been organised. Using CCTV footage, technical analysis and human intelligence, we cracked the case and arrested six persons.”

The accused have been identified as Shaktisinh Rana, Mehul Gadhvi, Sanjay Dave, Vijay Bharwani, Deepak Jha and Indrajeet Vaghela. Agrawal said that the weapon – also recovered by the police – belonged to Gadhvi, a resident of Ahmedabad.

Agrawal said, “During the liquor party, Gadhvi’s friends allegedly told him, ‘You walk around carrying a weapon, but does it even fire?’ In order to prove that it was a live weapon, two rounds were fired towards the flats at a distance… both rounds were fired by Gadhvi. We have initiated the process of cancelling his arms licence and informed the District Collector in whose jurisdiction it is registered.”

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Police have recovered the weapon, a magazine and four live cartridges. We also registered a case under the Prohibition Act in connection with the alleged liquor party. Empty liquor bottles have been recovered from the premises.

Police said Rana has two previous criminal cases registered against him, while Dave has as many as 15 offences to his name, including a murder case. The antecedents of the remaining accused are being verified. Investigators said the office premises where the party was held had been rented by a friend of Rana’s.

Teams of the local police, crime branch and forensic experts reached the spot soon after the incident and collected evidence from the apartments and surrounding area. A neighbour who rushed to the flat after hearing a loud explosion-like sound said he found shattered glass and damaged curtains inside the house, while “a part of the bullet casing was lying in the room”.

The incident comes barely a week after a Delhi-based garment businessman was seriously injured in a firing near Waghodia on the outskirts of Vadodara. No arrest has been made yet in that case.

Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field. She has been reporting from the region of Central Gujarat and Narmada district for this newspaper since 2013, which establishes her as a highly Authoritative and Trustworthy source on regional politics, administration, and critical socio-economic and environmental issues.

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