The last thing K.P. Agrahara resident Chandru had in mind when he went to the bank was the possibility of being shot. Which is nearly what happened when a security officer’s loaded gun went off accidentally at the State Bank of India’s branch on West of Chord Road on Monday.
Mr. Chandru (35) was about to enter the bank around 11 a.m. when there was a loud bang and something grazed his foot through the footwear, drawing some blood. It was a splinter from the bullet casing that ricocheted off the staircase at the bank’s entrance.
Horrified passersby and the security guard at the adjoining ATM kiosk rushed him to a nearby hospital. He was discharged later in the evening.
Accidental firing
The accidental firing took place when security officer L. Sampath Raj (58) and a colleague had come to the bank in the morning to provide security to ferry cash to the bank. Mr. Raj told the police he was holding a loaded double-barrelled gun with his left hand on the trigger as the cash was being transferred from the vehicle by the other personnel. That done, he was getting into the vehicle when the weapon nicked against the vehicle’s door and the trigger was pressed accidentally. Fortunately for everyone, the weapon was pointed downwards and the bullet hit the staircase of the bank’s entrance.
However, a splinter of the casing ricocheted and grazed Mr. Chandru’s foot, piercing through the footwear.
People nearby initially thought Mr. Chandru had been shot in the foot, said the police. However, as the bullet had not pierced through his flesh, he did not sustain any serious injury.
The Magadi Road police arrested Mr. Raj. The latter, previously with the Indian Army Corps of Signals, has been working with the SBI for the past eight years, providing security to vehicles that transfer cash into various branches in the city.
Cases have been booked against him for negligent conduct with respect to machinery (287 IPC), endangering life or personal safety of others (336 IPC), and causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others (337 IPC). He has also been booked for ‘punishment for contravention of licence or rule by negligence in handling the weapon’ under section 30 of the Indian Arms Act 1959.
