History-sheeter and alleged illicit arms dealer Ravi Bairamadagi was shot dead by a rival gang at Sanjeev Nagar Colony here Friday night.
The police said Srinivas, leader of the rival gang, who is also known as Budda Srini, was injured in the shootout and was admitted to Basaveshwar Teaching and General Hospital in a serious condition.
Ravi Bairamadagi and Srinivas had a number of cases against them in different police stations and both of them are named as history-sheeters in the district police records.
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They were arrested on different charges earlier and released by local courts on bail. The police said their rivalry was of recent origin and Srinivas allegedly used to purchase firearms from Ravi and sell them to others. Both of them fell out a couple of months ago over a minor issue.
The police, who questioned some of the associates of Ravi Bairamadagi who accompanied him to Sanjeevnagar slum to meet Srinivas on Friday, said Srinivas had reportedly sent feelers to Ravi for rapprochement. Ravi reportedly rejected the proposal initially, but later decided to visit Sanjeevnagar, where Srinivas has a house.
The police said according to eye-witnesses, Ravi and Srinivas had a heated exchange. It was Srinivas who first stabbed Ravi with a sharp weapon and Ravi retaliated by opening fire on Srinivas from his country-made revolver.
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However, Ravi and his associates were overpowered by Srinivas’s gang, and they grabbed the revolver from Ravi and shot him at close range. They also attacked him with boulders and escaped from the scene, leaving a seriously injured Srinivas behind. The police took into custody two of Ravi’s associates for questioning.
The police also recovered Ravi’s body and took it to Government General Hospital for post-mortem.