Farmer fired at realtor over property dispute

A 42-year-old realtor was shot at by a villager over a land dispute near Jigani in the outskirts of the city on Sunday.

Villagers helped to rush him to the hospital after he was injured in the leg. The police are now on the lookout for the accused, Sadappa (61), who escaped along with the weapon after the incident. The injured has been identified as Rama Murthy, a resident of Lingapura.

A year back, Murthy had purchased around 30 guntas of agricultural land from a relative of Sadappa, Muttamma. But Sadappa claimed that some portion of the land belonged to him and Muttamma had sold it against his wish. Sadappa had warned Murthy not to come near the land till the dispute is resolved, a senior police officer said.

However, Murthy, along with his cousin, Thimmaraju, came to Karpura village to clean the land on Sunday morning. When Sadappa came to know about it he rushed to the spot and opened fire at Murthy with his single barrel gun. The bullet pierced into Murthy's left knee. Thimmaraju rushed him to a hospital on Bannerghatta Road where doctors said that he was out of danger.

The police have now formed a special team to nab Sadappa, a farmer by profession. His family members told the police that he had purchased a licensed weapon in 2013 for his protection. They also claimed that Sadappa was not contacted by Murthy while purchasing the land since it is an ancestral property. Murthy was not in a condition to give a statement to the police.