The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Fleeing driver shot at during chase, dies in hospital

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 22, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Fleeing driver shot at during chase, dies in hospital

Staff Reporter

He stole a truck with 14 tonnes of iron rods and drove with little care for traffic rules

BANGALORE: It was a scene straight out of a thriller movie, replete with a reckless thief and a daredevil policeman. At 1.30 a.m., under the cover of darkness, Hosur Road was the setting for a chase of a man who had stolen a truck and seemed to care little for traffic rules with the police in hot pursuit.

The accused, who was eventually gunned down by the police, was identified as Narasimhamurthy. He had stolen a truck with 14 tonnes of iron rods belonging to Yellappa, owner of Manjunath Transport near Attibele. Upon being informed of the theft, the Bangalore Rural Police set up barricades at the Chandapura Circle check-post, which, however, proved no deterrent for a desperate Narasimhamurthy who smashed through them as he drove towards Bangalore.

Injuring two police constables the reckless runaway was finally shot at by sub-inspector T.S. Jagadish. The bullet shot through his cheek proved fatal.

Mr. Jagadish, from the Hebbagodi police station, was on night duty and supervising the check-post, when he heard of the stolen truck and its rash driver on his walkie-talkie.

He asked policemen to keep a watch on trucks moving on the road. As he was talking to a few policemen, he saw a truck being driven in a haphazard manner and asked his men to stop the vehicle.

Barricade

The driver of the truck crashed against the barricade and drove away. Mr. Jagadish asked his constables, Afroz Khan and Kempanna, to chase the truck in a motorcycle while he followed them in his jeep.

At one point he hit the overtaking motorcycle, knocking the two policemen off onto the road.

Mr. Jagadish then sent messages to police stations ahead alerting them to the stolen truck. He continued his chase of the truck along narrow country roads. On several occasions, the truck driver tried to hit Mr. Jagadish’s jeep. “He was driving dangerously, not sparing any vehicle or person coming in his way. I tried stopping him. He was also running away with material worth Rs. 7 lakh,” he told The Hindu.

When he finally caught up with the truck, Mr. Jagadish fired three rounds at the accused. Narasimhamurthy continued to drive undeterred till he reached the end of the Bommasandra village road. “He stopped the truck at around 2.30 a.m. He was unconscious and had an injury on his cheek,” Mr. Jagadish said.

The police said Narasimhamurthy was aged around 30. They took him to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences and then to Victoria Hospital, where he died of bullet injuries.

Inquiry

Superintendent of Police, Bangalore Rural, Vikash Kumar Vikash, said that Narasimhamurthy, a native of Tumkur who had settled in Attibele, seemed to have no prior criminal history. He said the incident has been brought to the notice of the jurisdictional tahsildar, who will conduct a magisterial inquiry, mandatory in cases of police firing. Mr. Jagadish has been asked to lead the investigation.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka