Two persons, Ram Dhari and Om Prakash, were sitting outside a room in the village when two armed, masked men arrived at the spot on a scooter. Both started firing indiscriminately.

Dhari and Prakash ran into the room where four others were playing cards. A bullet hit Dhari on his temple and he fell on the floor. Om Prakash and Ashok were also shot at. The others escaped bullet injuries even as the assailants fled.

Dhari, a 40-year-old MCD employee, bled to death in the room. Ashok and Om Prakash were taken to Surya hospital. Om Prakash, a 32-year-old farmer, died at the hospital. A critically injured Ashok, who works as a peon in the Planning ministry, was referred to DDU hospital from where he was again referred to Safdarjang hospital. Ashok is being operated upon to remove the two bullets stuck in his head.

According to the police, Ashok was a witness in a case involving gangster Balraj. He had apparently helped the gangster obtain bail, much to the resentment of the other party. DCP (South-west) P K Bharadwaj told Express Newsline: ``The two warring parties who are fighting over a piece of land for years now are responsible for this shoot-out. As many as 73 cases have been registered in the past few years against one or the other party.'' The police have not made any arrests yet.