The City Crime Branch arrested a man facing murder charge after shooting at and injuring him on the outskirts of Belagavi on Tuesday.
The accused, Vishal Singh Chavan (25), a repeat offender, is wanted in at least eight serious cases in Karnataka and Maharashtra, the police said.
Officers said that Chavan is wanted in the murder of Raju Doddabommanavar, a real estate developer, in the city a few months ago.
The City Crime Branch received information that Chavan was visiting an acquaintance in Veerabhadra Nagar near the city. The accused was planning to extort money from a builder in Subhash Nagar. The builder’s family members confided in a family friend who revealed this to an officer.
A CCB team, led by Assistant Commissioner of Police Narayan Baramani, rushed to the spot. The team was waiting at the rendezvous point to apprehend the accused. He arrived at the scene at around 3 a.m. But when he learnt of the presence of the officers, he tried to flee on his motorcycle. When he was stopped, he fought back and caused a deep wound on the hand of Yasin Nadaf, a police constable.
Mr. Baramani opened two rounds of fire at the accused and stopped him. The accused suffered injuries on his left leg. The police then shifted him to the District Hospital for treatment. He will be produced before a magistrate as soon as he is fit to walk, Mr. Baramani said.
“Our officers acted in self-defence,’’ said Police Commissioner M.B. Boralingaiah.
The accused hails from Chikka Nandi Halli village near Kittur in Belagavi district.
“Chavan is a notorious criminal and has committed serious crimes such as attempt to murder, dacoity, extortion and assault in Karnataka and Maharashtra,” a senior officer said.
The police had formed three teams to arrest Chavan. He had been evading arrest since March. The police teams had visited Maharashtra, Punjab and West Bengal to look for him in the past.
A case has been registered.
Doddabommanavar of Bastawad village was hacked to death near his Belagavi house on Mandoli Road on March 16. Investigation revealed that the victim had gained considerable wealth in real estate and had married multiple times. One of his wives had arranged his killing through contract killers. Chavan is said to be one of the contract killers. The woman, a fellow real estate developer and an acquaintance of the victim, is among the six people arrested in the murder case.
This is the second incident in which Mr. Baramani has opened fire at a fleeing criminal. He was among the team of officers that shot at and killed Praveen Shintre who was accused of a rape and murder in 2007.
