House owner shoots and injures burglar who jumped into his compound

A homeowner shot and injured a burglar who jumped into the compound of his house and tried to break in.

The incident was reported from Railway Parallel Road in Rachenahalli, Northeast Bengaluru, in the early hours of Tuesday.

Police said Lakshman, 20, of Mudhol, Bagalkot district, had come prepared to burgle the house of Venkatesh, a businessman, around 2.30 am. He carried a gas cutter, a cutting plier and other tools used in house break-ins. Since the house is located near the railway track, he thought he could easily flee with the booty.

But he didn’t know that the homeowner, Venkatesh, had a licensed double-barreled breach-loading shotgun and knew how to use it. He also didn’t know that Venkatesh had dogs in the house that were adept at sniffing out any kind of danger.

When Lakshman jumped into the compound of Venkatesh’s house, the dogs started barking loudly. The howling dogs woke Venkatesh up.

Suspecting something was fishy, he grabbed his gun, noticed the intruder and fired at him from the first floor itself. The bullet hit Lakshman in the right leg, and he collapsed. Venkatesh called the police.

T Rangappa, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Sampigehall subdivision), happened to be on night patrol in the area at the time. He and other policemen rushed to Venkatesh’s house. The police team shifted the injured Lakshman to Bowring Hospital where he is undergoing treatment and is out of danger.

Sampigehalli police checked Venkatesh’s firearms’ licence and opened a case. Venkatesh runs a mineral water business and is also a landlord. He lives with his wife and two children.

A police officer said Lakshman didn’t seem to have a criminal record but they had contacted Bagalkot police to check his background.

Lakshman arrived in Bengaluru just two weeks ago and lived in a rented house in Hennur.