BENGALURU: Jalahalli police on Sunday opened fire at two rowdies who were involved in several robbery, bike theft and chain snatching cases in and around the city. The incident took place early in the morning, when cops took the duo to their house to recover the stolen items. The duo pelted stones at the policemen in a bid of escape.
The accused are Vijay alias Dadiya (24), and his associate Hanumanth alais Mori Hani (23), both residents of Nandini Layout. A senior police officer said that two days ago, the duo snatched an elderly woman’s gold jewels near Laggere, and escaped. Police managed to identify the movements of the accused based on CCTV camera footage, and nabbed them on Saturday when they were on the way to a friend’s house. During the interrogation, they confessed to the crime, and a team of policemen brought them to Kooli Nagar to recover the stolen items.
At 6 am, they reached the spot and the duo pushed head constables Naresh and Srinivasmurthy to escape, after which they pelted stones at the team. Inspector Yeshavant BS and sub-inspector Lepakshi Murthy opened fire at the duo. Injured policemen were rushed to a nearby hospital, and Vijay and Hanumanth were rushed to a government hospital for treatment.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the accused were involved in more than 15 cases in Rajgopalanagar, Nandini Layout, Basaveshwaranaga and Yeshwanthpur. The prime accused Vijay is an associate of notorious rowdy Sampath Rao, alias Ashok, alias Matti, who is currently lodged in Parappana Agrahara jail. Rao, a resident of Basaveshwara Nagar,was involved in 18 cases, including murder, attempt to murder, extortion and attempted robbery.