Silvester D'Souza

Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur

Kundapur, Oct 24: In a recent incident near Byndoor, a gang of miscreants armed with deadly weapons threatened the Byndoor Block Congress president and his friends, brandishing a pistol. The accused involved in the case have been successfully apprehended by the Gangolli police.

The arrested include Sachin Aluru, Sharath Devadiga Aluru (24), Vishwanath Padukone, Roshan Fernandes, Pradeep Padukone, Karthik Poojary, Prakash Mogaveera, Keerthik Poojary, Ganesh Poojary, Vishal, Gautham, Santosh Nadu, Mahendra, Jagadish Mogaveera, Santosh Hadavu, Ankit Poojary, Shivaraj, and Sadhan, among others.

The accused—Sachin (24), Sharath Devadiga (24), Karthik (22), Keerthik (20), Prakash (20), Jagadish (31), Gautham (23), Mahendra Poojary, Santosh Mogaveera, Roshan Fernandes, and Prasad Acharya (30)—were arrested, along with three minors involved in the scuffle. A total of 13 people were taken into custody. The police also seized one air pistol and four bikes from the accused.

Five days ago, Srikanth Poojary from Padukone village was near the crossroad leading to Sri Mahavishnu Temple in Hadavu, conversing with friends Aravind Poojary, Chandra Padumane, Suresh, Shiv Kumar Hebbar, his son Manu Hebbar, and Sudesh Shetty. Suddenly, the accused attacked them with lethal weapons.

The gang, led by Sachin Poojary and Sharath, armed with a pistol, iron rods with spiked wheels, and wooden clubs, tried to intimidate the group. Srikanth and his friends moved away, but Shivkumar Hebbar and Manu confronted the attackers, leading to Vishwanath Padukone, Roshan Fernandes, and Praveen Padukone attacking them with weapons. Shivkumar suffered injuries to his hands and legs, while Manu was injured on his head.

The gang also threatened Sudesh Shetty and Byndoor Block Congress president Aravind Poojary. Sachin Poojary brandished a pistol at them, saying, "This is an unlicensed pistol. I'll shoot you and throw it away, and no one will be able to do anything about it." He threatened to shoot if they caused trouble, holding the gun to Aravind's head.

When Srikanth attempted to flee, Sachin blocked him and pointed the pistol at his head, threatening to shoot him. He also slapped and assaulted Srikanth, who later filed a police complaint. The incident is believed to have stemmed from an old enmity between Srikanth and Vishwanath Padukone.

Gangolli police officers Harish R Naik, crime PSI Basavaraj Kanashetty, and staff members Nagraj, Keshav, Sandeep, Raghavendra, Rashtrapathi, and driver Sudheer were involved in the successful operation.