BENGALURU: Banashankari police opened fire at a notorious rowdy when he attacked a police inspector in a bid to escape on Thursday. The injured inspector Puttaswamy is recovering in a private hospital. The rowdy belonged to a gang which was involved in vandalising vehicles in some of the localities in South division.
The injured rowdy has been identified as Bhoja alias Vishnu. He along with his five associates went on a rampage on Wednesday at A K Colony in Banashankari to vandalise four auto-rickshaws, 10 cars, and a motorcycle.A senior police officer said that Bhoja had repeatedly vandalised vehicles in Yediyur and Basavanagudi. The armed gang also threatened a witness who had informed police about the incident. After an alert from the police control room, a team reached the spot and gathered information about the gang from the residents. Around 10.30 pm, six men including Bhoja fled the scene on three bikes.
Based on a tip off, two inspectors — Puttaswamy along with B K Shekar of Basavanagudi police station, chased Bhoja in the early hours. In a bid to escape, he attacked Puttaswamy with a dagger and inspector Shekar opened fire at him in order to defend his fellow officer. Bhoja received a bullet injury in his left leg. Later, his associates surrendered.“Bhoja was involved in a murder case and he had attacked one Harish in 2015. Banashankari police booked the gang under several sections including extensive damage to property,” the officer added.