iharika Jeena (27) was hit by a bullet near Egipura signal around 7:30 pm on October 26 when she was riding back home on her two-wheeler from her office in Murugeshpalya.

“Something hit me but I didn’t know what it was. I saw blood oozing out and felt a burning sensation on my left hip. A passerby brought me to St John’s Hospital in an autorickshaw, where I was operated next morning. Doctors told me I was hit by a bullet,” said Niharika.

Niharika has been living in the City for the last three years with her younger sister. They are from Nainital, Uttarakhand. Niharika’s father, Bhupendra Singh, is an assistant conservator of forest.

Her mother rushed to Bangalore after the accident and is staying in the hospital to take care of her daughter. “It was God’s grace my daughter was saved,” said her mother.

The hospital authorities have taken the bullet and the clothes she was wearing at the time of incident. It will be submitted to the police. Niharika has given her statement to Viveknagar police and lodged an FIR.

Case booked
Viveknagar police station Inspector M S Kakandiki, said “We yet have to receive the bullet that hit Niharika. We suspect it came from the Army firing training centre at Iblur. We registered a case under Negligence Act against unknown party on Monday after receiving a memo from St John’s Hospital.”

He said the bullet will be sent to the forensic science laboratory.

This is the second such case of a bullet hitting a commuter in Egipura area this year and the fourth since 2003. On April 25, Mercy Andrews (51), a resident of Egipura, was hit by a bullet on her left hand.

In 2005,  P M Thomas sustained injuries after getting hit by a bullet in the same area. Satyajeet Kumar Singh was hit while travelling in an autorickshaw on Ring Road in 2003.

Police suspect in all the three incidents, bullets came from the Army firing range because they were all from prohibited bores, said DCP (Central Division) B N S Reddy.