A man who had gone to watch a football match in a local ground was shot at by a neighbour after the latter’s team lost and some people apparently asked him not to consume alcohol in the open, police said.

The incident happened on Elliot Road, barely a kilometre from Park Street, around 12.3am on Tuesday.

Eyewitnesses said people ran helter-skelter when the suspect, identified as Sohail Khan, fired at least thrice.

Lawrence D’Cruz was hit in the leg. His brother Francis said doctors had told them the bullet exited the right leg leaving a wound, which would be operated upon on Wednesday.

Lawrence used to run a catering business, which shut down in 2020 because of the pandemic, Francis said. The brothers now run a roadside eatery.

“I had just finished my dinner on Monday night when I heard hue and cry outside. I went to the balcony when someone shouted ‘tere bhai ko goli laga hai (your brother has been shot at)’. I immediately rushed out. By then our neighbours had shifted him to hospital,” Francis said.

The police said before they arrived, the prime accused — Khan and his associates Shahnawaz Sagar alias Nawab and Mohammad Shahrekh, all residents of Elliot Lane — fled leaving their two-wheeler behind.

Cops seized an empty cartridge, a live cartridge and a slipper were seized.

Sheikh Irfan, an Elliot Lane resident who was at the spot, said: “Sohail (Khan) had played for the team that lost. After the match, he started assaulting the goalkeeper of the winning team. But he left when others intervened. After some time, he and his friends came back and started drinking outside the club. When my brother-in-law (Tazim Hossain) protested, he opened fire.”

Khan fired at least three bullets, one of which hit Lawrence.

“The first bullet was targeted at my brother-in-law (Hossain) but it hit a wall. Sohail and his friends then tried to flee while people around them panicked. He fired again pointing towards the ground. This time the bullet hit Lawrence on his leg. The third bullet was fired in the air,” Irfan said.

Later in the day, officers of Park Street police station arrested the three accused.

The three used to drive private vehicles.