Police sources said Singh first aimed at 27-year-old Vinod Singh. He shot him in the forehead. Next he turned towards one Shiv Narayan, 45, sitting by and shot him in the chest. The next four shots rang out loud and the bullets hit the palm of one guest, and the leg of another. Singh then escaped in his car, the police said.

Soon after the incident, one Bittoo rang up the police. The four injured were taken to the Brahma Shakti Hospital where Vinod Singh and Shiv Narayan were declared dead on arrival. Their bodies were later taken to the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital for postmortem.

The injured, Vijay Mathur, 26, and Rajesh, 24, underwent surgery and their condition is stable, the police said.

Both deceased were from the Majri village nearby. Shiv Narayan’s daughter Niki Dawas — an assistant commander of the Central Reserve Police Force in Chennai — said her father thought the party would discuss politics. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer District) Atul Katiyar however said there was no political rivalry behind the shootout. Vinod Singh is survived by a young wife and a one-year-old child.

The police said raagini parties were a favourite with host Vijay Mathur. Such evenings were frequent in his farmhouse.

Katiyar added, “A case has been registered against unidentified people at the moment. We are not sure Sandeep Singh was the only one who fired. We are talking to all guests present that evening.” Singh is from Bawana village, officers said. He has a fat crime dossier too — three criminal cases, including one of murder. The police went to his house on Thursday, but he remains on the run.