Vijayapura police shoot at robber, three others flee; Gang had terrorised town

VIJAYAPURA: The Gol Gumbaz police opened fire at a gang of robbers, injuring one of them, near Spandana Hospital on the outskirts of the city in the early hours on Friday. The shootout occurred when the gang was attempting to flee after a failed robbery attempt.

The accused has been identified as Mahesh, hailing from Madhya Pradesh. He was admitted to the district hospital where his condition is stable. The police had fired five rounds at the robbers of which three bullets hit Mahesh in the leg — two in the left leg and one in the right.

The gang of five masked robbers, armed with iron rods, swords and machetes, has created a scare in Vijayapura, having committed threee robberies in a span of one week. On Wednesday night, the gang barged into the huse of Santosh at Jainapura extension, stabbed him thrice — twice in the back and once in the chest, threw him down from the first floor and snatched his wife Bhagyajyothi’s gold mangalasutra.

“My husband heard footsteps outside and looked through the window. The gang then kicked the door and barged in. When my husband resisted, they stabbed him in the back and chest and threw him down from the first floor. They again attacked him when he had fallen. The robbers threatened me and snatched my gold mangalasutra and chain. They had bolted the ground floor house of the owner and threw a stone at me from the road, which hit me in the head”, Bhagyajyothi said.

Vijayapura SP Lakshman Nimbaragi said, “The gang had been operating at night, threatening residents with weapons and taking away their valuables. Since December 9, three FIRs have been registered in this connection. On Thursday night, the gang was spotted in Kanakadasa Layout and a resident raised an alarm and informed the police. The robbers then fled from there on one motorcycle. They were spotted by a night patrol team near the highway around 3 am. The police opened fire, but since it was dark, they continued to search for the robbers and the injured robber was found in an open field near Spandana Hospital around 8 am”.

The SP added that three of his accomplices managed to escape and that the police are continuing the search for the other accused. Further investigation is under way.