Three youths sustained bullet injuries after being shot at by Ashwin, their own cousin. This incident occurred at the residence of Tapal Nagaraj, elder brother of Tapal Ganesh, near Raghavendra Colony in the city on Friday night.
All the family members had assembled to perform puja in memory of the elders.
While having dinner, Ashwin, son of Bhawani Prasad, a mine owner, and Vinod and Manoj, cousins, quarrelled over a trivial issue. Suddenly Ashwin, who was in an inebriated state, opened fire at them. Manoj sustained injury in the thigh while another bullet pierced the abdomen of Vinod and also hitting the left arm of Ranjit, police said.
Meanwhile, Manoj bit Ashwin while attempting to prevent Ashwin from firing further.
All are undergoing treatment at VIMS hospital and are said to be out of danger.
Additional SP Vijay Dambal, Suresh, DySP and Prasad Gokhle CPI, visited the spot.
Ballari (rural) police have registered a case based on a complaint of Vinod.