Updated

Bengaluru, Aug 16 (Agencies): There was high drama at National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) on Sunday evening, as an undertrial snatched a rifle from a guard and fired indiscriminately inside the campus.

The gunman, identified as Vishwanath (22) was cornered in a guard room within the campus. Officials present at the scene said that no one was injured in the incident.

Sources said that he fired at least 23 rounds in the air from a 303 SLR rifle. There were five rifles in the guard room in which he was locked.

The police tried to convince him over the mike to stop firing and surrender, and even brought his mother to speak to him, but when he refused to listen, the Garuda commandos barged into the room to get hold of him.

The Garuda commandos shot Vishwanath in an attempt  to overpower him. A critically injured Vishwanath was rushed by ambulance to another hospital where he was later declared dead.

"The incident occurred around 3 pm when the accused, Vishwanath, was being escorted for treatment at the hospital," deputy commissioner of police (South) B S Lokesh Kumar told reporters.

Known to be a rowdy element, Vishwanath was arrested in May 2011 in the city on a murder charge and lodged in the Parappana Agrahara central jail on the city's outskirts since then.

"After jail doctors recommended further treatment for Vishwanath's mental illness, he was taken to the National Institute of Mental and Neurosciences for check-up and tests, as he was misbehaving with inmates and turning violent," Kumar said, citing jail authorities.

The undertrial was taken to the guardroom for completing hospital formalities when he requested the policemen to remove the handcuff to go to the toilet which they did. As he came out of the toilet, he snatched the rifle and fired indiscriminately at the ceiling and floor, police said.

According to a witness, gun shots were suddenly heard in a ward, leading to commotion and panic among patients and hospital staff.

"Vishwanath entered a room and locked himself up after firing 7-8 rounds in the air and threatened to kill if he was touched," the DCP said quoting the escorting policeman.

Police summoned Garuda commandos of the state reserved police, trained to deal with such situations, to take Vishwanath out of the room alive.

Commandos cordoned off the building in which the prisoner was holed up after patients inside were shifted to other wards. 

Being Sunday, the hospital in the southern suburb did not have many people, as out-patients are not seen on a holiday and majority of doctors have a day off.

City police commissioner N S Megharikh and additional police commissioner C H Pratap Reddy rushed to the hospital to supervise the operation.

With IANS Inputs