Vijayapura police shoot at murder accused after latter attacks them with knife

VIJAYAPURA: The Vijayapura police shot at a murder accused in the leg after he attacked two policemen with a knife, near Toravi village on Thursday morning. Both the injured are undergoing treatment at a hospital for their injuries.

The injured policemen and (right) the accused.

Acting on specific information, a police team set out to nab Suresh, who was moving near Toravi village. When the police tried to apprehend him, Suresh attacked Vijayapura Rural police sub-inspector Vinod and constable Pawar with a knife in his bid to escape, injuring them in the hand, according to Police Superintendent Lakshman Nimbaragi.

Sub-inspector Vinod then fired two rounds in the air and warned Suresh to surrender, but he threatened them with a knife following which the PSI shot him in the leg, the SP said. While the accused has been admitted to the district hospital, the policemen have been admitted to a private hospital where the SP checked on their health. All the injured are said to be stable.

The SP said that on January 28, one Satish Rathod was found brutally murdered near Manavaradoddi Arakeri LT-1 in the taluk. Satish had been shot dead with a country-made pistol and the police had arrested five people in connection with the murder, but Suresh, who had supplied the firearm had not been traced. On Thursday, the police received information that he would be near Toravi village when they tried to arrest him, leading to the shootout.