Malleswaram blast suspect Panna Ismail, who was arrested at his hideout after an 11-hour operation in Puttur, Chittoor district, on Saturday, has suffered bullet injuries on his abdomen. The injury is feared to cause further complications.
On Saturday evening Ismail was rushed to Madras Medical College. The Dean Dr V Kanagasabai, while speaking to Deccan Herald, refused to divulge details. He said the patient was a home department patient and the case was a sensitive issue. However, a senior official who is in Chennai as part of the special team to interrogate Ismail said he suffered a bullet injury in the left part of his abdomen during the early stages of the operation. Two teams of doctors were treating him , the officer added.
The sources said that the bullet is still in the abdomen and is feared to cause further complications. A surgery was conducted on Sunday morning. However, they failed to remove the bullet. The doctors are expected to go in for another surgery on Sunday evening or Monday, they added.
As two officers from the Tamil Nadu Police tried to enter Ismail’s hideout in the early hours of Saturday, Bilal Mallik and Ismail attacked the officers with lethal weapons. Inspector Lakshmanan was severely injured and Head Constable Senthil, who tried to save Lakshmanan, was also attacked.
“The officer injured in the onslaught by the terror suspects from within the house was rescued by other officers. In the process, one round was fired by the police in self defence to ward-off further attack on the inspector,” Tamil Nadu Director-General of Police K Ramanujam told Deccan Herald on Saturday.
