In an early morning operation on Tuesday, Hassan police arrested a murder accused, opening fire at him when he tried to escape after assaulting a police officer, at Annenahalli in Channarayapatna taluk.
Prasad alias Gunda, the arrested, suffered a bullet injury in his leg. He is one among the accused in the murder of an aged couple at a farmhouse at Alagondanahalli in Channarayapatna taluk on Saturday night.
Hassan SP R.Srinivasa Gowda had formed two teams to investigate the case. Acting on a clue, one team took Manja Shetty alias Rahul, a resident of Baragur Koppalu, into custody for interrogation on Monday afternoon.
Vipul Kumar, Southern Range IGP, in a press conference in Hassan on Tuesday, said the police learnt that another accused Prasad was hiding in a poultry farm at Annenahalli. They launched the operation to arrest him at around 3 a.m. on Tuesday.
"The accused tried to escape after hitting Inspector E.V. Vinay with a knife. Belur Police Inspector S. Siddarameshwara opened fire in the air and asked him to surrender. However, the accused did not budge. He tried to escape, forcing the officer to open fire at him. The police team acted professionally. He was shot below the waist and later he was apprehended”, said Mr. Vipul Kumar.
The accused, a native of Channaraypatna taluk, had a history of involvement in many crimes registered in police stations in Bengaluru. “So far, we have got information that three more people were involved in the murder of the couple. The investigation is still on”, Mr. Vipul Kumar said.
The arrested has been admitted to Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences. Vinay, Inspector attached to the District Crime Information Bureau, suffered an injury as he was hit with a knife. He is also undergoing treatment.
Muralidhar, 80, and his wife Uma Devi, 67, were murdered on Saturday night at their farmhouse. The accused had taken away valuables from the house. Manja Shetty, one of the arrested, was familiar to the victims. He allegedly hatched a conspiracy with Prasad and others to loot valuables belonging to the couple.
