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Bulandshahr (UP), Apr 27 (PTI): A person involved in the murder of three members of a family following an argument over smearing cake during a birthday party here was injured in an encounter when he attempted to flee police custody, officials said on Monday.

The police have identified 10 accused, three of whom have been arrested. A cash reward of Rs 25,000 was announced for the seven named accused and another unidentified accused.

The case stems from a firing incident that happened in Bulandshahr at a gym on Saturday night, where a birthday party was being held for gym trainer Jeetu.

The celebration took a tragic turn after an altercation over the smearing of cake escalated into the killing of three people -- Amardeep (30), Manish (28), and Akash (18), the officials said.

All three belonged to the same family, officials said.

A family member of the victims, Sanjay, said Manish was his younger brother, Akash his nephew and Amardeep his uncle's son.

Khurja Circle officer Shobhit Kumar said that while all angles are being probed, prima facie, it has come to light that the argument broke out over the smearing of cake.

A case was registered in connection with the incident, and three out of the 10 named accused -- Rupesh, Mayank and Naresh -- were arrested and questioned, police said.

Senior Superintendent of Police Dinesh Kumar Singh has announced a cash reward of Rs 25,000 for the arrest of each of the remaining seven accused, as well as one additional accused whose involvement has subsequently come to light.

Efforts are underway to arrest them, he said.

During interrogation, Mayank revealed that he had hidden an illegal firearm under a flyover. Acting on his disclosure, a police team took him to the spot on Monday for the recovery of the weapon, they said.

According to the police, Mayank attempted to escape from custody and opened fire at the team using the concealed weapon with the intent to kill.

The police retaliated in self-defence, during which the accused sustained a bullet injury in his leg and was subsequently overpowered and arrested, officials said.

CO Kumar said an illegal .315 bore country-made pistol and an empty cartridge were recovered from the accused.

The accused, a resident of Khurja, has been admitted to a hospital for treatment.

Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased have demanded stricter action against the accused, saying that the houses of the accused should be demolished using bulldozers.

Manish's brother, Sanjay, said the family is satisfied with the police's efforts and is confident that the remaining accused individuals will also be arrested and sent to jail soon.

He further asserted that bulldozers should be used to demolish the houses of the accused.

Amardeep's Radha and father Sarup also put forward similar demands of demolishing the houses of the accused. PTI COR ABN NAV APL APL

(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)