MANGALURU: Police opened fire on two members of the notorious 'Chaddi' gang, allegedly involved in the dacoity of a house in the city, when they assaulted cops in a bid to escape on Wednesday morning.
The cops had taken four members of the gang to a spot mahajar near Mulki Bus Stand where they had discarded a rod used in the crime. When they reached a kachcha road near the bus stand, two of the accused - Raju Singhania and Bali - assaulted ASI Vinay Kumar and police constable Sharat with handcuffs and tried to flee.
When they did not heed to the police's warning, the cops first opened fire in the air and then shot at their legs in self-defence, said Mangaluru city police commissioner Anupam Agarwal. The accused are out of danger and are being treated at Wenlock District Hospital while the cops are admitted to a private hospital in the city.
Agarwal said the gang had arrived in Mangaluru three days ago from Yeshwanthpur in Bengaluru and were returning back after Tuesday's offence when they were apprehended at Sakaleshpur in Hassan district. Investigation so far has revealed that the gang was involved in several dacoity cases in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Bali was involved in a house-break that took place at Commercial Street, Bengaluru while the main accused Raju Singhania was involved in 10 such cases in MP and Karnataka.
The commissioner said they are checking the fingerprint analysis to see if the gang is involved in more crimes. He said normally the gang members hide their identity by giving fake names.
The gang had entered the house of Victor Mendonca through a narrow street behind the house located on Kotekani Road. The commissioner said such gangs usually do a recce before striking their target. Police are also finding out if they used any other means to choose their target.
Agarwal announced a cash prize of Rs 50,000 for Police Inspector Bharathi and her team for swift arrests in the case.