Chain snatcher hurt in police firing

A notorious chain snatcher and robber, Sammu alias Basheer Babu, was injured when police opened fire at him at Rajanukunte on Thursday morning. Sammu and his associate Nayab Rasool have been arrested.

When one of the robbers attacked the police with a knife, Hebbal Police Inspector Mohammed Sherief Ravuthara opened fire injuring Sammu in the leg. Sherief sustained stab injuries. Both the injured are receiving treatment at Baptist Hospital, Hebbal.

String of robberies

The two-member gang — Sammu of Cholanayakanahalli of R T Nagar, and his associate Rasool of Kempapura, Hebbal, were involved in a string of chain snatching and robbery cases in the City across many police station limits including Hebbal.

The Hebbal police had received information that the two were operating at Yelahanka for the past three months. The robbers had taken a house on rent in Rajanukunte. A 20-member police team raided the house in the wee hours of Thursday.

According to the police, when their order to the two men to surrender was not heeded, they barged into the house, to be confronted by Sammu holding a country-made pistol at them.

Sammu, on finding that he could not fire his pistol as it was jammed, charged at the police with a knife,  injuring Sherief in the right arm.

An injured Sherief fired two rounds from his service revolver wounding Sammu in his
thigh. The police seized a country-made pistol. A case has been registered at Vijayapura police station.

Notorious

Sammu and Rasool had gained notoriety in the last two years by indulging in string of chain snatching and robbery cases. Sammu, who was involved in a murder case in Ulsoor Police Station jurisdiction in 2008 was serving a jail term when he befriended Rasool, also serving a sentence for chain snatching cases in Hebbal, DJ Halli,
Amrutahalli in 2011.

The two came out on bail in 2012 and ganged up to snatch chains in MS palya, DJ Halli and Hebbal.

They were also involved in robberies in Chennaraypatna and Tumkur. They had also attacked a Sub-Inspector attached to JP Nagar Police station, Manoj Kumar, when he tried to apprehend them in a similar incident in 2012.