Rangappa was injured during an operation which saw the police intercept and take custody of seven dacoits trying to hijack a lorry carrying goods worth Rs 70 lakh.

Rangappa, after getting the initial treatment at Ambedkar hospital in the morning, went through a two-and-a-half hour   “plate and screws” surgery at a private orthopaedic hospital here.

Describing the incident to  a Deccan Herald reporter Rangappa recollected, “...After knowing that there was no escape they started attacking us and even as I stood pointing revolver at one of them, he swung his chopper and  injured constable Siraj Ahmed on his head.”

The container, Rangappa said, was headed for a godown in Govindapura when the police intercepted it at around 4 am  and by 4.20 am, then came the flashpoint.

“The offenders, all under the influence of alcohol and even probably marijuana, were fearless, but we managed to recover the property and took them into custody,” he said.