Mystery shrouds the shoot-out at ISRO's Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) at Byalalu near Bangalore early on Tuesday morning, with police and ballistic experts expressing doubts over the reported incident of exchange of fire between Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) guard and two unidentified persons.
The police have not found any trace of firing by the two unidentified persons at the CISF security personnel on duty at the main gate of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) facility situated at a distance of 40 kms from Bangalore.
“We could find six out of the eight bullets fired by the CISF constable Jadhav. We have so far not found traces of the bullets said to have been fired by the two unidentified persons,” said Inspector General of Police (Central Range) Kamal Pant, who is overseeing the investigation .
According to Mr. Jadhav, two persons were seen standing close to the compound wall around 3.30 a.m. While one was using “an object” to see the premises, another was holding a “small weapon,” resembling a pistol. Even as Mr. Jadhav, who was inside the premises, spotted the duo, one of them fired at the constable. Mr. Jadhav retaliated by firing eight rounds using his INSAS rifle. Before he could come out of the entrance gate, the two persons had fled. “He does not know how the two escaped,” Mr. Pant said. Incidentally, the shoot-out occurred just an hour after four trucks had come to unload sand at a place of construction on the IDSN premises.
Two possibilities
Additional Director-General of Police (Law and Order) A.R. Infant, who firmly ruled out a terror angle, said the investigators were looking at two possibilities – the constable may have opened fire on finding suspicious movement of unidentified persons or loaded rifle may have been kept in an automatic mode and the CISF personnel may have accidentally pressed the trigger.
