Three held in Hunsur shepherd shooting case

Superintendent of Police Mallikarjuna Baladandi addressing a press conference in Mysuru on Friday.

Three persons have been arrested in connection with the shooting of three nomadic shepherds, who sustained bullet injuries to their legs while trying to catch sheep thieves in the early hours of November 6 in Hunsur taluk.

During an operation in the Hunsur-Periyapatna forest area on Wednesday night, the police arrested three persons — Pramod, Sudeep and Devaraj — in connection with the case and seized a licensed single-barrel gun from them.

The accused were produced before a court. A separate case has also been registered against the holder of the gun licence, according to police sources.

The accused reportedly told the police that they had allegedly ventured into the area for hunting. However, preliminary investigations indicate that they were allegedly there to steal sheep.

According to the police, the accused allegedly opened fire at the shepherds with the gun when they caught them red-handed while allegedly attempting to steal sheep.

“The incident has caused panic among nomadic shepherds. Our team successfully cracked the case,” Superintendent of Police Mallikarjuna Baladandi told a press conference on Thursday, while sharing the investigation details into the case.

One Ramakrishna Gowda, the alleged licence holder of the single-barrel gun, is said to be absconding.

The three nomadic shepherds Govinda, Bhima and Junjanna, all natives of Sira taluk in Tumakuru district, who sustained bullet injuries to their legs, are responding well to treatment, Mr. Baladandi said.

Two teams led by Police Inspector Santhosh Kashyam and Sub-Inspector Tajuddheen were involved in the investigation and in tracing the accused.

Police sources said Pramod and Sudeep had criminal cases registered against them in the past.