NEW DELHI: In an incident reminiscent of the high-profile Jessica Lal murder case, the son of a Bahujan Samaj Party MLA was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly opening fire at Mocha Bar in Nehru Place here following an argument with the manager over a petty issue.

Vivek’s father Chander Bir Singh is a member of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly.

The incident took place around noon when Vivek’s sister came to the bar to inquire about her purse which she had probably forgotten when she visited the place for dinner along with her two friends a day before.

Vivek and his wife waited outside in a car while his sister went inside the bar to make inquiries.

“The woman had come to the bar the previous night and probably forgotten her purse. She came again and inquired about it. When we denied having seen any bag, she made inquires about the staff present at night. At this, the bar manager intervened and tried to pacify her. But she left hurling abuses. After about five minutes, she returned along with a man and a woman,” said a staff at Mocha Bar.

“At the entry gate, one of our guards stopped the man when he tried to enter the bar carrying the weapon. The guard told him that weapons were not allowed and asked him to wait outside. But the man foul mouthed the guard and assaulted him.

He then went straight to the manager’s desk and slapped him. When the manager tried to reason with him, he pulled out a revolver and opened fire. The bullet missed the manager and hit the wooden plank.

The bullet would have hit the manager in the head had one of the women accompanying him not intervened in the nick of time,” the staff said.

Soon after the incident, Vivek fled leaving his sister and wife in the bar. The bar staff made a call to the Police Control Room and the women were detained. Initially they did not cooperate, but later gave in.

The police also impounded a white Innova car abandoned near the bar.

When the identity of the accused was revealed and the sequence of events became clear, several teams were formed and even the MLA was contacted to confirm the whereabouts of his son. “We have arrested Vivek. We have also seized the revolver,” said Additional Commissioner of Police (South-East) Virender Chahal in the evening.