Mahadeva Prasad, a J.P. Nagar resident who has a farm opposite the Art of Living (AoL) campus off Kanakapura Road, had no ill intention when he fired his licensed pistol on May 30 to scare away feral dogs that had attacked his sheep, Director-General and Inspector-General of Police Ajai Kumar Singh told reporters here on Saturday.
“There is no intention to harm anybody. From where he fired, he cannot either see the AoL gate or the yagna shala [where the dead bullet was found],” he said.
“He has a weapon and the reason that he fired to scare away wild dogs looks reasonable. This does not make an offence under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code,” Mr. Singh said.
Talking to reporters on Saturday, Mr. Singh said Mahadeva Prasad, a resident of J.P. Nagar, has a farm opposite to the AoL campus off the Kanakapura Road. A mud road goes down from the Kanakapura Road and connects the farm. He also has poultry and also has a few sheep.
Dr. Prasad had come to his farm with family the day before, and as he was leaving the following evening, he spotted the pack of dogs. “The dogs had bitten his sheep a few days ago,” Mr. Singh said, and so Dr. Prasad fired two rounds from his 0.32 licensed pistol. When he drove further, he saw a lone dog and fired another round,” Mr. Singh said.
One of the bullets, “which had lost its injuring velocity,” landed near the yagna shala on the AoL campus a few minutes after Sri Sri Ravishankar had left the satsang. The bullet grazed the leg of Vinay K., a disciple, and singed his right thigh. TheHindu had reported on Saturday that forensic tests matched the bullet with the pistol.
The police recovered the bullet from the ashram.
The ballistic experts, Mr. Singh said, opined that the bullet recovered from the AoL was indeed fired from Dr. Prasad's pistol. “The time [of the firing] and the gradient [of the place from where he shot] confirmed us that it was bullet fired by Dr. Prasad. We got opinion of experts about the distance the bullet would travel and the injury it would cause,” Mr. Singh said. A test firing was also done, Mr. Singh added.
Asked whether the police will book Dr. Prasad for negligence in the use of the weapon, Mr. Singh said, “If there is any legal mistake by Dr. Prasad, we will find it.”
A press release from the Art of Living Foundation said that Sri Sri Ravishankar was satisfied with the conclusion.
