Two men on a motorcycle made an attempt on the life of Vijayendra Bhat (39), a city businessman, on the Mannagudde-Ballalbagh Road Friday evening.
Mr. Bhat, owner of Sudhindra Industries, was driving his sports utility vehicle, when one of the suspected assailants shot at him. The bullet hit the window frame next to the driver’s seat, breaking the pane. He escaped unhurt.
According to an eye witness, Mr. Bhat stopped his car and rushed towards a restaurant run by his friend, and downed its shutter. The assailants, who had gone ahead, took a U-turn but collided with another two-wheeler and fell down.
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The police said they have recovered a cartridge case suspected to fired at Mr. Bhat.
Taranath Shetty, a friend of Mr. Bhat, said for the past few days the businessman was receiving threats from a man claiming to be underworld operative Vikki Shetty. A complaint had been lodged with Urwa Police. Mr. Shetty said Mr. Bhat’s movement were being tracked for the last three days.
Inspector General of Police (Western Range) C. Pratap Reddy had a discussion with Mr. Bhat to know the chain of events. Mr. Reddy said the assailants could have used a pistol to fire at Mr. Bhat.
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Past incidents
There have been three incidents of people being shot in the city in the past. Subba Rao, a journalist-turned-realtor, died after being shot outside his office on K.S. Rao Road on July 30, 2007. Builder Suresh Bhandary was shot when he was after a long walk from Kadri Park on May 26, 2011. A group of men assaulted 32-year-old Prashant, a manager of a transport agency, and shot him in Valencia on April 8.