Mangalore: Ballalbagh firing - Police arrest two prime accused, four accomplices
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, Aug 6: Four days after the failed murder bid on entrepreneur Vijayendra Bhat, the Barke police on Tuesday August 6 arrested six persons, including two prime accused in the case.
The arrested are Deekshit Poojary alias Deekshu (25), a resident of Maroli, Litesh (20), a resident of Soorinje, Satish alias Sachu (28), a resident of Soorinje Katipalla, Padmaraj alias Paddu (29) of Bejai, Keshava Someshwar alias Choni (23), a resident near Ullal railway station, and Anil (30), a resident of Pumpwell, Kankanady.
Among them, Deekshit and Litesh are the prime accused who carried out the murder attempt. Deekshit fired the gun at Vijayendra while Litesh was riding the bike. The other four have been arrested for assisting them.
The attack had taken place on August 2 evening at Ballalbagh. Vijayendra, while he was driving his Scorpio on the Mannagudda-Ballalbagh road, was shot at by two men who came on a bike. The bullet hit the rim of the car window and the pane on the driver's side was smashed. Vijayendra escaped unhurt, while the assailants fled after a minor mishap with another bike.
Vijayendra has flour mill at Ashoknagar. He was on his way to the mill when the attack took place, police said. He also owns Sudheendra Market near PVS and a restaurant by the name Tom & Chilly.
During the interrogation, the accused said that they carried out the act on the behest of underworld don Vicky Shetty. They said that Vijayendra had financially supported the accused in Bejai Raja murder case, and hence, they attacked him.
The arrest was made by Barke police SI K Manjunath and PSI K Mohammed Sharif under the guidance of police commissioner Manish Karbikar, DCP Jagadish and Dharmaiah. Balakrishna, Shekhar Gatti, Sunil Kumar, Isaac, Pradeep Kumar Rai, Vinod, jeep driver Dinesh Shetty Asaigoli and others were part of the team.