The former Army official who allegedly shot two persons during an argument over a traffic issue at Valiyavila here has been booked for attempt to murder and remanded to judicial custody till February 12.
The condition of the two injured persons, meanwhile, was stated to be stable.
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) M. Brelvi, who told police that he had used his pistol for self-defence after he was assaulted by a group of persons with whom he had an argument over allowing overtaking space for his car late on Wednesday, was produced before court on Thursday and remanded to judicial custody.
According to V. Jayachandran, Circle Inspector, Museum, reports that Mr. Brelvi did not possess a valid license for his firearm were baseless. The ex-Army official had renewed his license with validity up to December 28, 2014, but was yet to submit the necessary documents after this to the local police station. He had admitted that he was in an inebriated condition, but argued that two persons had first assaulted him when he honked his car horn, demanding space to get past an auto-rickshaw which was blocking his path.
He had gone home then, and returned with a baton and his pistol. He went on to confront a group standing near the junction, in which the two persons who allegedly had assaulted him were present. However, seeing him armed, they retaliated quickly and are said to have managed to push him down, following which he “opened fire in self-defence.”
Ballistic experts said Mr. Brelvi had fired three out of the eight rounds in his pistol, two of which hit 35-year-old Manoj and 47-year-old Venkateswar Rao, Mr. Jayachandran said, adding that the two injured were still under treatment in the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital, where they had undergone surgeries to get the bullets removed from their bodies. Both were stated to be stable.
Left parties meanwhile, observed a hartal in the locality.
