Isro attack: Terrorists did a recce, it was not an actual strike

No trace of empty bullet cartridges has deepened the mystery surrounding the shootout at the campus of Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on Tuesday early morning.

Even as Karnataka home minister VS Acharya says no importance should be given to the shootout, there is space for alarm and concern.

It has now emerged that the state police, after all, have a different story to tell.

A report detailing the police version has been submitted to the Union home ministry.

Initial investigations in the case have revealed that the two intruders had indeed fired gun shots at the guards. One of the suspects was carrying a binocular and was trying to peep inside the campus when he was challenged by security personnel.
What is even more shocking for the state police is the fact that even though the investigation team didn’t find any used bullet cartridges at the incident site but they have found burnt pellets which have been sent for ballistic examination.

“After completing the initial investigations, it doesn’t seem to be the handy work of local criminals. The possibility of terrorists is certainly not ruled out,” said a senior official of the Karnataka Police. Sources in the Karnataka Police also said that it is possible that the duo had come to recce the campus area and this was not an actual strike.

The exchange of fire between security personnel and unidentified men had taken place at Isro campus in Byalalu, about 30 kilometers from Bangalore. The shooting incident happened in the early hours of Tuesday.

“The absence of empty cartridge cases from the weapons of miscreants could also be because the guns were country made or revolvers. In both the cases, the empty cartridges are not automatically ejected,” said the source.

Senior officials also said that they suspect that the bullet that was fired on the security personnel had missed the target. “We haven’t found any bullet mark at the place of the incident. We suspect that the bullet had missed the target or might have been fired in air to judge the response time,” the officer added.