A 32-year-old man, who suffered pellet injuries near Mudigere in Chikmagalur district, died in a private hospital here on Saturday.
The victim's relatives said Kalandar, a daily wage worker, left his house in a village near Padubidri on Friday evening. Around 4 a.m. on Saturday, they received a call stating that he had been injured. “The call was made from the victim's cellphone,” said Siddiq, his relative. The caller only spoke about the injury and gave the location of the incident as Beltangady, he added.
Mr. Siddiq said a distant relative was asked to file a report with the Belthangady police and then bring the victim to the Unity Health Complex in Mangalore. “We do not know anything about the incident,” Mr. Siddiq said.
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Mr. Siddiq said the victim's cellphone was switched off after 4 a.m. and it was missing from his (victim's) pocket. Doctors at the Unity Hospital said the victim was brought to the hospital around 8 a.m. in an unconscious state. He had injuries on his head, neck and chest caused by pellets. Mr. Siddiq said that the victim was the eldest of the two children of late Abdul Khadir and Nafeesa. He was married and his brother Taufeeq lived in Saudi Arabia, he said.
Superintendent of Police (Chikmagalur) Vikash Kumar Vikash said Kalandar was among the nine persons who came in a vehicle around 3 a.m. on Friday for allegedly stealing cattle from the farmhouse of Nagesh Gowda at Janebailu near Mudigere. Mr. Gowda, who saw them in his farmhouse, opened fire from his shotgun. He then informed the police station at Gonibeedu about the incident. Mr. Vikash said Kalandar was taken by his friend to the government hospital in Belthangady where the doctors were told that he was injured in a road accident. From the Belthangady hospital, Kalandar was brought to the Unity Hospital in Mangalore, he added. He said the police were trying to trace the other persons who were with Kalandar. The police were trying to ascertain if the vehicle abandoned near Gottigana in was used by Kalandar.