The Rajagopalnagar police opened fire at a rowdy-sheeter who allegedly attacked a constable in a bid to escape in Peenya industrial area in the early hours of Sunday.
The accused, Kishore, is a resident of Hegganahalli. Along with four of his associates, he had allegedly hacked Umesh, 37, owner of a roadside eatery, to death on May 12 .
The police arrested his associates Ravish, 44, Jitendra, 30, Sumanth Raj, 29 and Pradeep Kumar, 40.
During the early hours of Sunday, the police were tipped off about Kishore’s movements and intercepted his scooter. In a bid to escape, Kishore attacked Constable Shivaswamy. Inspector Dinesh Naik warned Kishore by firing in the air before aiming at his legs, the police said.
The injured constable and Kishore were taken to a hospital where they are recuperating.
According to the police, Kishore had an affair with the wife of the deceased. He started blackmailing her with videos of them together, and later uploaded the videos online. Unable to bear the harassment, the woman complained to Umesh who filed a police complaint. Kishore was arrested.
Kishore managed to came out on bail. He allegedly attacked Umesh to avenge his arrest, a senior police officer said.