BENGALURU: Hennur police opened fire on a 19-year-old rowdy-sheeter, who had allegedly killed a lorry driver in a bar at Kothanur on November 30, when he attacked them after being chased and cornered on Tuesday.
The injured Abhishek and police constable Santhosh Lamani are recovering in hospitals. Abhishek was involved in several crimes, including murder and robbery, and was earlier arrested by the Kothanur police. A senior police officer said Abhishek, a resident of Vaddarapalya, absconded along with his associates after killing Keshav (30). Subsequently, a special team was formed to nab the gang and three of them were arrested immediately.
Based on a tip-off that Abhishek was at a particular location, Inspector H D Kulakarni and his team traced the rowdy-sheeter. When he tried to flee, the policemen chased him in their vehicle. As the team cornered Abhishek, constable Santhosh caught him. But Abhishek took out a knife and slashed Santhosh's left hand.
The Inspector then opened fire in the air as a warning but when Abhishek tried to attack again, he opened fire on the accused's leg. Abhishek collapsed, and he was taken to a government hospital while the constable was shifted to a private hospital.
Initial probe revealed that Keshav and Abhishek had a fight during a Ganesha festival procession and the latter was waiting to take a revenge against him. When Keshav came to the bar, Abhishek and gang arrived there and attacked him, said the police officer.