BENGALURU: The Jigani police on Friday shot at a rape and murder accused when he allegedly tried to attack a police constable and flee from the scene of crime.
A police team had taken Soma alias Somashekar to the spot where he and two others had gangraped and murdered a near the Hakki Pikki Colony close to Bannerghatta today. Somashekar then allegedly attacked constable Madappa with a dagger and tried to flee.
Jigani police inspector Manjunath fired a few warning shots in the air and when Somashekar did not relent, the officer shot him in the leg, Bengaluru Rural SP Mallikarjun Baladandi said. The injured Soma was later shifted to Narayana Health City. The constable suffered loss of blood due to the attack, he noted.
Soma of Byatarayana Doddi, Harish alias Hari of Hale Ooru and Jayanth had allegedly gangraped 39-year-old Munirathna of Bhootanahalli and killed her last Saturday. They were under the influence of drugs at that time. On a complaint from locals that the woman and her child were missing, four teams were formed to crack the case, the SP said.
During the search for the body by the family the next day, one of the accused, Harish, even spoke to the media and tried to mislead everyone. He even found the child within minutes. When the police questioned him, he gave vague replies, but when he was subjected to intense questioning, he spilled the beans.
When the police carried out a search in the area where the woman was murdered, they found some of her clothes. Based on technical evidence, the three were arrested on yesterday evening, the SP said.
The trio had gangraped the woman by turns and were high on drugs. They continued to remain in the village even after committing the crime and the investigation was carried out on the basis of CCTV footage while the dog squad also played an important role, the SP said..
Somashekar was previously involved in dacoity cases in Ramanagara, Kaggalipura and Talaghattapura, while Harish also has cases registered against him, the SP added.