The Central Crime Branch (CCB) police on Friday arrested a close associate of notorious gangster Bannanje Raja.
The police said that the accused, Sujith Pujari Kudkoli, was to give a pistol to a sharpshooter to eliminate an industrialist who refused to give hafta (protection money) to the gangster.
Sujith alias Ramesh (31), a resident of Nagarabavi, was coming to Majestic to board a Mangalore-bound bus. The police, who received a tip-off, nabbed him and recovered a pistol.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Sujith was going to give the pistol to a sharpshooter in Mangalore, who was coming from some other state to murder an industrialist at the behest of Bannanje Raja.
Sujith had come in contact with Raja as he hails from Mangalore and had worked in Dubai. He was working as a real estate agent and LIC agent, but was in constant touch with Raja for the last few years. Raja used to contact him over internet phone calls and used Sujith as carrier to hand over weapons and cash to sharpshooters and his other aides.
In 2013, Sujith had managed to escape from police when he, along with some sharp shooters from Uttar Pradesh, was preparing to murder industrialist Satish Pai in Bangalore, police added.
Burglars Decamp With Mobile Phones
A gang of unidentified miscreants broke into a mobile store in Vijayanagar in the early hours of Saturday and escaped with mobile phones worth `15 lakh.
After seeing the CCTV footages of the building, the police said the incident took place around 4.30 am and about 10-12 men, who had covered themselves with bedsheets, entered the Planet Mobile outlet. They gained entry after breaking open the locks. The incident came to light when the store manager came to the shop. Vijayanagar police are investigating.
Youth Killed in Accident
A 26-year-old youth died after he rammed his speeding bike into a road median at Singasandra on Hosur Road on Friday night.
The deceased has been identified as Avinash, son of Muniyappa, a head constable with the City Armed Reserve police. He was working with a private firm.
Police said the accident occurred around 11.30 pm when Avinash was returning home after work. While taking a U-turn near Singasandra Junction, he lost control and rammed in to the median. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to head injuries. Electronics City traffic police have registered a case.
30-year-old Found Murdered
A 30-year-old unidentified man was found murdered at the parking area inside RMC Yard market on Friday night.
The police said the incident came to light around 7.30 am when a passersby noticed the body lying in a pool of blood and informed the police, who examined the spot.
The assailants strangulated him using a wire before smashing his head with a stone. “We are trying to establish his identity and ascertain the reason behind the murder,” added the police. RMC Yard police are investigating.
Overspeeding Car Injures Police Head Constable
Bangalore: A 52-year-old head constable attached to Adugodi Traffic police station sustained injuries when he was hit by a speeding car at Wipro Junction near Koramangala on Saturday morning.
The injured has been identified as Madhusudan and the police arrested the accused Chinmai Mishra, a native of Odisha.
The police said the incident took place around 8.45 am, when Madhusudan was on duty. Mishra, who works as a manager in a private bank, was going towards Koramangala. As he was a learner, he lost control of the overspeeding car, went over the footpath and hit Madhusudan before ramming into an electrical pole.
Madhusudan sustained leg injuries and Mishra took him to a private hospital. Adugodi police rushed to the spot and took him into custody.