Man found with 13 live rounds

A speech-impaired man who was found carrying 13 live cartridges at the Mysuru Road Satellite Bus Station has been released on bail after the police failed to investigate the source of the firearm ammunition.

Mahadevaswamy was picked up for questioning by Siraj Ahmed, a security havaldar, who had found him “moving suspiciously” at platform number 2 on the evening of April 13.

Mahadevaswamy stuttered when Ahmed asked him what he was doing at the bus station. The havaldar checked his bag out of curiosity and was stunned to find 13 live cartridges of 0.22 calibre in it. Mahadevaswamy failed to give any information about the ammunition, and was handed over to the jurisdictional Byatrayanapura police.

Police registered an FIR against Mahadevaswamy under the Arms Act and began an investigation into the source of the cartridges. They went to his house in Hebbal and questioned his family but got little headway.

Mahadevaswamy was a Bescom employee but was sacked because he was irregular at work. His family told the police that he was under treatment. The police could not establish the source of the cartridges and approached the court, seeking his custody.

But the judge denied the request, citing Mahadevaswamy’s medical condition, and released him on bail.