Rowdy wanted for 14 crimes shot at, caught

A police inspector opened fire to capture a history-sheeter after he attacked two cops in a bid to escape their custody near Mallasandra on Friday.

Deputy Commissioner of (North) N Shashikumar said Stephen Fernandes alias Gunda was a suspect in a murder and 14 other crimes. He is listed as a history-sheeter at the Jayanagar police station in Tumakuru. He had been absconding for the past six months.

The officer said the police received a tip that he was hiding in Mallasandra and caught him. The history-sheeter, however, attacked the police when they were escorting him to get his associate in Mallasandra. Constables Manjunath and Srinivas were injured in the clash.

Police inspector Shivaswamy fired a warning shot in the air and later shot Stephen in the right leg to neutralise him. The injured had been taken to hospital, while police are awaiting him to recover to begin their interrogation.