Birthday boy goes on assaulting spree, nabbed in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: While many others his age would ring in their birthday by spreading joy, a youngster celebrated his big day by terrorising strangers. The hooligan, who turned 21 last Saturday, and six of his associates went on a rampage, assaulting 11 people and vandalising several shops and vehicles between Chamarajpet and Kasturba Road off Mysuru Road.
Bytarayanapura police who rushed to nab the accused, Rahul K alias Govinda, on Monday morning, were attacked and opened fire at his leg before arresting him.
Police said Rahul, who used to live in Kasturbanagar and recently shifted to Moodalapalya near Vijayanagar, visited his former locality on Saturday to celebrate his 21st birthday with his friends. He and six others partied till evening and consumed alcohol. But they soon began to terrorise the public. Between 4.30pm and 6.30pm, they roamed the streets on three scooters and assaulted several people with cricket bats and knives.
Byatarayanapura police registered six cases and Chamarajpet police filed three against Rahul and his gang on Saturday night. Several teams were formed to trace the miscreants. Byatarayanapura police inspector Virendra Prasad received credible information about Rahul’s whereabouts near Ramasandra, Jnanabharathi and rushed to the spot. Constable Prakash tried to nab him around 6am but Rahul whipped out a knife and tried to stab the cop. Sensing danger, Virendra shot at Rahul’s left leg.
“Both the injured constable and Rahul were rushed to Victoria Hospital. We will question Rahul to know about his associates involved in Saturday evening’s incidents,” an officer said. Police said Rahul, who has two robbery cases against him, may have vandalised vehicles and shops and assaulted the public to create panic and in the hope of extorting money from people.
Gang thrashed 11 people in 2 hours
The gang hit the road on three scooters around 4.30pm, swinging their bats and abusing passersby. They first assaulted Vaseem, 27, of Shamanna Garden and an auto driver near Kasturba Road. The miscreants damaged his auto before assaulting him with bats. Vaseem estimated it would take Rs 5,000 to fix the damage.
Around 4.45pm, the gang assaulted a labourer, Diwakar Murthy M, 33 of Byatarayanapura, near a ration shop at Timber Layout. They stabbed Diwakar in the left shoulder and fled after damaging his bike. He incurred a loss of Rs 5,000 in the attack.
The gang members reached Rudrappa Garden around 5pm, where they attacked two men within 10 minutes. They assaulted a 28-year-old labourer, Irfan, and snatched his mobile phone. Later, the gang vandalised an auto near Saraswathi Jewellers and assaulted its driver Muniraju.
The assailants stopped their vehicles at Saptagiri chicken centre in Rudrappa Garden around 5.20pm. They damaged a bike, assaulted two passersby — Hemant Raj P, 40 and Venkatesh M, 34 — and sped away. Hemant sustained severe injuries and was rushed to Nimhans.
The gang turned up at Mysore Tea Bar Bakery at Kasturbanagar and assaulted its owner Ganesh BR, 25, and his friend Shivanna, an auto driver, around 5.35pm. They vandalised Shivanna’s auto and bakery, causing damage to the tune of Rs 30,000.
The gang moved towards the Christian burial ground, where they found Annappa M, 47, standing next to his bike around 5.45pm. They vandalised the bike and threw his mobile after thrashing him with bats. Annappa told police he incurred a loss of Rs 30,000.
The gang’s next target was an 18-year-old student who was returning home from a relative’s house around 6pm near a private college in Kasturbanagar. They threatened him at knife-point and hit with a bat before taking away his KTM Duke bike worth Rs1 lakh.
The gang struck at Shabari Condiments on 1st Main Road in Kasturbanagar around 6.30pm. They assaulted owner Sanjeeva Pujari, 48, before fleeing.