Ranchi, Jan. 1: The New Year revellers were much disciplined this year. The celebrations last night across the city was peaceful except for an isolated firing incident at Birsa Chowk, in which the victims escaped with minor injuries.

A group of drunken hoodlums open fired at two shopkeepers last night after the latter refused to cough up cash. Rakesh Singh alias Guddu and Ranjit Thakur were taken to the hospital and released after treatment.

“While Singh runs a hotel, Thakur owns a saloon. Both are residents of Hatia,” a shop owner of the locality said.

Confirming the incident, officer-in-charge of Jagannathpur police station K.P. Yadav said the injuries were not serious. “Singh and Thakur did not require hospitalisation. The bullets did not hit them and just grazed by their bodies,” Yadav said.

Relating last night’s incident, a shopkeeper of the locality said the youths, who were in an inebriated condition, were demanding money from the shop owners on the occasion of New Year. They were beating up whoever resisted them.

“The youths open fired when the local residents chased them. The bullets grazed past Singh and Thakur,” the shopkeeper added.

An FIR was lodged at Jagannathpur police station. However, no one has been arrested yet. The police claimed that they have identified the criminals and assured that they would be arrested soon.

Meanwhile, sources at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) said the hospital registered only four cases of minor injuries last night, but they were all accident cases.

“The police did not bring any injured people to the hospital. Those who were brought in were victims of minor accidents. They were released immediately after receiving a few stitches,” a nurse at the casualty operation theatre of RIMS said.