Condolence messages pour in

Support and condolence messages poured in from all quarters following the death of police sub-inspector Mallikarjun Bande on Wednesday. A fan page was created for him on Facebook with messages and posts from people belonging to all walks of life, while his own profile reached its friend limit at 4,601 and all the subsequent requests were turned down.

Having completed his schooling from the Government High School in his native village of Khajur in Aland taluk, Bande went to Sharanabasappa Appa College in Gulbarga to pursue higher studies. After securing a degree in BA, Bande joined the police department in 1997.

He rose to the rank of sub-inspector in 2004 and went on to serve at Maski, Wadi, Raghavendra Nagar and Humnabad police stations before being transferred to the crime branch of Station Bazaar police station in Gulbarga City.

Bande was included in the anti-rowdyism team at Station Bazaar police station, following which, he quickly rose to the challenge of facing hardcore criminals like Munna, said a head constable from the station. According to Siddu Patil, a constable at Madan Hippargi police station, the brave official kept away from family programmes like marriages and naming ceremonies as “duty was everything for him.”

The last lunch
It was while Bande was having lunch on January 8 that he received an SMS that criminal Munna Darbadar was holed up in house in Chhota Devadi. He immediately alerted other policemen and rushed to the spot himself, without finishing the food. The plate was cleared only by evening when his family learnt about his injury.