Cop shoots at two rowdies wanted for serious crimes

A CCB inspector fired at two men with a long criminal record when they allegedly resisted arrest early on Monday.

A team of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) went looking for Satish alias Shedka, 29, and Handi Mahesh, 28, after learning that they were travelling in a Maruti Swift near BTM Lake along Ranka Colony Road in southern Bengaluru around 2.40 am. Upon seeing the policemen, the duo attacked constable Hanumeshi with a knife in an attempt to escape.

CCB inspector Keshava Murthy asked the duo to surrender but the suspects didn’t budge and tried to mount another attack on the police. Puneet Kumar, another CCB inspector, then opened his service pistol and fired at the men, injuring them in the right legs below their knees.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Patil said Satish had a long record of serious crimes and that he had been listed as a history-sheeter at Koramangala and Shidlaghatta police stations. Satish is wanted in at least three murders (Kavala Viji alias Vijaykumar in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, in 2014; Venkataramana, the former councillor of Shidlaghatta in 2016, and Tarkaari Mahesh in Bagalur, Tamil Nadu), an attempted murder (Mill Manja in Koramangala in 2011) and two assaults (Mill Manja in Koramangala in 2011 and 2012).

Mahesh, listed as a history-sheeter at Shidlaghatta police station, is believed to be involved in two murders (Venkataramana, the former city councillor of Shidlaghatta, in 2016 and Tarkaari Mahesh in 2019). A court had issued warrants against the duo in the Shidlaghatta murder case and they had been absconding, the officer said.

Following the shooting, the suspects were taken to Victoria Hospital for treatment. Hanumeshi, the injured constable, is undergoing treatment and remains stable, the CCB said.