The Bengaluru Police shot at a 32-year-old man, who allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted a four-year-old girl in the city, while arresting him. The suspect, Dinesh, who is from Chennai, allegedly attacked an assistant sub-inspector with a knife when the shot was fired.
On the night of October 10, the four-year-old girl's parents, who sell toys outside the Sangolli Rayanna Railway Station, took their daughter near the ticket counter for shelter as it began raining. They fell asleep soon after and around midnight when the child's mother woke up, she found the little girl missing.
Around 10 am on October 11, her father received a call from KC General Hospital, stating that their daughter had been admitted for treatment by people who found her near the hospital. When the couple went to KC General Hospital, the doctors informed them that the girl was sexually assaulted and a medico-legal case was registered.
On October 11, the girl's parents filed a complaint with the Srirampura Police stating that the child was abducted and sexually assaulted. An FIR was registered under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and section 363 (kidnapping) and 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code. Srirampura Police Inspector Sunil Nayak told TNM that his team procured the CCTV footage from the railway station sometime before midnight, they found the suspect Dinesh, abducting the child.
"We received information on Monday that the suspect was in Okalipuram's RRK Junction at around 4.15 am. So we went there to arrest him," Sunil Nayak said.
Inspector Sunil and assistant sub-inspector Venkatappa found Dinesh and when they went to arrest him, he allegedly stabbed Venkatappa with a knife. Sunil Nayak then fired one round from his weapon in the air and later shot at Dinesh's right leg and arrested him. Both the suspect and ASI Venkatappa were taken to KC General Hospital for treatment.
Sunil Nayak said that they suspect Dinesh to have been involved in more such cases. "We are interrogating him to find out whether he was involved in more child abductions as we received a tip in this regard. He has been remanded to police custody for three days," Inspector Sunil added.