BENGALURU: Jigani police in Bengaluru Urban district’s Anekal on Friday morning shot at and injured a 25-year-old autorickshaw driver, who, along with two of his friends, was arrested on charges of gang-raping and murdering a 38-year-old mentally ill woman near Bannerghatta on August 12.
Accused M Somashekhar alias Soma of Byatarayana Doddi, who was taken by police for a spot inquest, was shot at when he attacked the cops accompanying him, with a dagger that he had used in the crime.
The two other arrested accused have been identified as G Harish, 33, of Byatarayanadoddi and N Jayant Rao, 20, of Haleyur in Jigani. Both of them are daily wage labourers.
A team led by police inspector BS Manjunath had taken prime suspect Somashekhar to the crime scene where he picked up the dagger he had thrown in a bush nearby and attacked the cops with the same, police said.
Following which, inspector Manjunath opened fire in the air to warn him and shot him in his right knee when the latter did not heed the warning.
Police records show Somashekhar had been earlier booked in three cases, including for murder and robbery.
Last week, the woman was playing with her two-year-old nephew on the fringes of a forest on the outskirts of the village when the three men accosted her.
According to police, Somashekhar threatened the woman at dagger point and dragged her into the forest with the help of his two associates. When the boy started crying, they dumped him in a bush, police said.
Later, the trio took the boy to the woman’s house saying they found him abandoned by roadside, crying. They claimed they had no clue about any woman being with the boy.
A frantic search by the woman’s husband and other family members till midnight yielded no result. Later, they informed the cops. When the search was relaunched next morning accompanied by the cops, the woman’s body was found in the bushes.
After preliminary investigation, a case of rape and murder was registered. Same day, media visited the bereaved family members. The two accused, Harish and Rao, also interacted with the media, claiming that they had found the woman’s abandoned nephew. They were also present with the search party that had accompanied cops that morning.
Bengaluru district superintendent of police Mallikarjun Baladandi said that one CCTV camera installed on the outskirts of the village mainly helped in cracking the case.
“The footage showed the three accused moving suspiciously in the evening, before the incident. Later, they were seen carrying the child and hurrying to the village. Besides, we have other circumstantial evidences to prove their involvement,” he said.
Accused M Somashekhar alias Soma of Byatarayana Doddi, who was taken by police for a spot inquest, was shot at when he attacked the cops accompanying him, with a dagger that he had used in the crime.
The two other arrested accused have been identified as G Harish, 33, of Byatarayanadoddi and N Jayant Rao, 20, of Haleyur in Jigani. Both of them are daily wage labourers.
A team led by police inspector BS Manjunath had taken prime suspect Somashekhar to the crime scene where he picked up the dagger he had thrown in a bush nearby and attacked the cops with the same, police said.
Following which, inspector Manjunath opened fire in the air to warn him and shot him in his right knee when the latter did not heed the warning.
Police records show Somashekhar had been earlier booked in three cases, including for murder and robbery.
Last week, the woman was playing with her two-year-old nephew on the fringes of a forest on the outskirts of the village when the three men accosted her.
According to police, Somashekhar threatened the woman at dagger point and dragged her into the forest with the help of his two associates. When the boy started crying, they dumped him in a bush, police said.
Later, the trio took the boy to the woman’s house saying they found him abandoned by roadside, crying. They claimed they had no clue about any woman being with the boy.
A frantic search by the woman’s husband and other family members till midnight yielded no result. Later, they informed the cops. When the search was relaunched next morning accompanied by the cops, the woman’s body was found in the bushes.
After preliminary investigation, a case of rape and murder was registered. Same day, media visited the bereaved family members. The two accused, Harish and Rao, also interacted with the media, claiming that they had found the woman’s abandoned nephew. They were also present with the search party that had accompanied cops that morning.
Bengaluru district superintendent of police Mallikarjun Baladandi said that one CCTV camera installed on the outskirts of the village mainly helped in cracking the case.
“The footage showed the three accused moving suspiciously in the evening, before the incident. Later, they were seen carrying the child and hurrying to the village. Besides, we have other circumstantial evidences to prove their involvement,” he said.