A dispute over vacating a rented house resulted in the tenant opening fire at a plumber here on Tuesday.
The plumber, Shibbin Mathew (34), who was shot in his leg, has been hospitalised. Police have arrested the tenant, Prakash Gowda, a granite businessman.
The incident took place at Marutinagar near Dasarahalli in Hebbal. According to the police, the house owner, Madhu D K, a senior manager with a private construction company, had rented his house to Gowda about three years ago. The contract lapsed but Gowda refused to vacate the house, despite the owner’s repeated requests. Madhu had also approached the local police, but did not receive much help. When questioned, Gowda told the police that he was searching for a house and would vacate Madhu’s house soon.
“On Tuesday afternoon, Madhu had taken Mathew for some plumbing work to the rented house, but Gowda stopped Mathew because of the ongoing dispute. This led to a heated argument between Mathew and Gowda. Irked, Gowda took out his .22 revolver and shot at Mathew, and tried to escape. The bullet struck the plumber in his right leg. Madhu informed the police and rushed Mathew to the hospital,” the police explained.
Within hours, Gowda was nabbed. “He had obtained the licence for the gun in 2007, which is valid till 2014,” the police added. Amruthahalli police have registered a case.