It was a night of high drama and one that did not end well for three men, including the cashier of a bar, who were injured in a shooting that took place late Tuesday in Mahalakshmi Layout.
It all started when three friends who went into the Dhanalakshmi Deluxe Bar and Restaurant in Saraswathipuram got into an argument with the waiter and the cashier over paying for a dish.
Things got really heated up, and one of the trio, Ravi N. (34), opened fire, striking the cashier’s leg. In the chaos that ensued, the three ran out of the bar, located in the terrace area on the third floor of the building.
It did not stop there. Two police personnel on night patrol chased Ravi and Anjan Kumar (33) down a narrow alley near the bar and opened fire, injuring them in their legs. The two men were later shifted to K.C. General Hospital while cashier-cum-manager Neelaiah (61) was taken to Sanjeevani Hospital in Malleswaram.
An employee of Dhanalakshmi bar, Vijay, narrating the sequence of events, said: “The three had ordered a chicken dish but later said it was not spicy enough. They started arguing with the waiter saying he had brought the wrong dish and therefore they would not pay for it. This went on for a while and bar manager Neelaiah intervened, backing the waiter. One of the men was so enraged he whipped out his revolver and fired.”
Pandemonium ensued and in the confusion, all the three ran away as did other diners.
Cornered in alley
Meanwhile, Mahalakshmi Layout Police Inspector S.R. Raghavendra and Srirampura Inspector Sampath Kumar, who were on night rounds nearby, were alerted by the control room about the shooting and rushed to the bar. After getting a quick lowdown from the rattled staff, they bounded out, looking for the suspects.
They cornered two of the three in an alley near Garden Bar in J.C. Nagar. When they asked the suspects to surrender, one of them pulled out the same gun and shot at the police jeep, according to Inspector Raghavendra’s first information report (FIR).
In self-defence, Inspector Raghavendra said he fired two rounds at the two, while Inspector Sampath Kumar fired three, hitting both the suspects in their legs.
The injured men were immediately shifted to the hospital by the policemen.
According to Inspector Raghavendra’s statement, it was Ravi who used the revolver, for which he had a licence.
Based on both the Inspector’s as well as the restaurant manager’s complaints, cases have been registered under the Indian Arms Act against the suspects.
Ravi, a bar owner, and Anjan Kumar, a land dealer, have also been booked for attempt to murder and for obstructing a public servant discharging his duty.
