The dead men were Chandru (30) and Prashanth alias Pachi (25) alleged to be associates of underworld don Ravi Poojary. They were allegedly involved in Saturday night’s attack on Mantri House on Vittal Mallya Road.
Within hours after the attack, Chandru was way laid and gunned down near Horamavu-Agara Road, while Prashanth alias Pachi (25) was killed near Yeshwanthpur railway station at around 12.45 am on Sunday.
A police inspector and a sub-inspector involved in the encounter also sustained injuries. They are undergoing treatment and are stated to be out of danger. The two encounters were action packed. Though the police reacted swiftly and gunned down two, one more suspect, stated to be Poojary's aide, managed to escape with bullet injuries on his hand.
The police are yet to ascertain identity of the injured. In both the cases, the police claimed they were forced to retaliate in self-defence. The first encounter took place barely two hours after an attack on Mantri House on Vittal Mallya Road, while the second counter took place as Pachi, intercepted by a police night patrol party, refused to follow the directions, City police claimed.
The encounters took to three the encounters with underworld figures over the last 16 days. A team of Bangalore East division gunned down Anil Kumar Singh allegedly involved in more than a dozen cases on the early morning of September 10.
Firing and encounter
It all began when two unidentified persons, believed to be Poojary's henchmen, opened fire at Mantri House around 9 am and fled on the bike bearing registration number CNY-5203. Police inspectors Mahesh, Balegowda and Ashokan apprehended them near Horamavu-Agara road around 11.40 pm. The duo refused to surrender when the police directed them to do so. In a bid to escape, the two opened fire indiscriminately forcing the police to retaliate for self-defence.
“There was hardly 8 to 10 feet distance between the police and the suspects. Nearly 10 bullets were exchanged from both the sides in the encounter which lasted for nearly 15 minutes. Chandru fired more than five rounds, while his associate fired two rounds. Three bullets pierced through Chandru’s body, two through chest and one through head,” said Ramamurthynagar police inspector Mahesh N.
Joint Commissioner (Crime) Alok Kumar said police recovered two revolvers and cartridges near the Mantri House and will be sending them for ballistic examination.
City Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari requested the citizens to inform the police about any threat by rowdies or underworld elements. He assured of taking steps to prevent such incidents.
Yeshwantpur encounter:
The night patrolling police intercepted Pachi near Yeshwantpur railway station around 12.45 am. Pachi, who was allegedly involved in over 12 criminal cases, including extortion and attempt to murder, had managed to give the police slip many a time.
Police inspector Ganapathy and sub-inspector Lohith directed Pachi to surrender. He attacked them with a machete despite repeated warnings. In retaliation, the police opened fire. One bullet hit his leg, while another was hit him in the forehead, according to DCP (Crime) S N Sidramappa. Ganapathy and Lohith were injured in the incident.
Members of Pachi’s family refused to accept the police version. They alleged Pachi was eliminated in a fake encounter and claimed he was not involved in any serious offenses.
