Double-murder accused attacks police, shot in legs

BENGALURU: A double-murder accused was shot in both his legs by Hebbagodi police late on Saturday night, after he allegedly attacked officers and tried to escape during a weapon recovery operation. The incident occurred near the Bommasandra crematorium in Anekal taluk, on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The accused has been identified as Raviprasad Reddy (40), a resident of Vinayaknagar and native of Andhra Pradesh. According to police, on November 4, Reddy allegedly murdered a provision store owner by slitting his throat in the Hebbagodi police station limits. Two days later, on November 6, he kidnapped a businessman, Balappa Reddy. Balappas son lodged a missing complaint the same day and later received a ransom call in English, demanding Rs 2 crore. Alerted by the family, the police began to suspect Raviprasads involvement. A special investigation team comprising three inspectors was formed to trace the accused. Investigations revealed that on the day of the abduction itself, Raviprasad had allegedly murdered Balappa, and dumped his body the following night in a forest near Hosur. DCP (Electronics City) M Narayana said Raviprasad was arrested around 3.30 pm on Saturday. After inspecting the crime scene, the police took him near the Bommasandra crematorium to recover the murder weapon. During the operation, the accused attacked head constable Ashok with a dagger hidden at the spot and also tried to assault the inspector. The officer first fired two warning shots, before shooting Raviprasad in both legs, when he refused to surrender, Narayana said. Raviprasad was later taken to a nearby hospital, and is recovering. The injured constable also received treatment. Another senior officer said Raviprasad, who was a wholesale vegetable dealer, had suffered heavy losses in business recently. He had approached his friend Madesh for help, but when the latter refused, Raviprasad allegedly planned to kidnap him. When Madesh resisted, he killed him. Raviprasad, a former tenant of Balappas house, later tried to kidnap the landlord, and murdered him when he resisted, as well. Police said Raviprasad had no prior criminal record.