Mysore jail firing leaves rowdy hurt

An undertrial rowdy was injured as another prisoner fired six rounds at him from a country-made pistol inside the so-called high security Mysore central jail at 3 pm on Thursday.

Srinivas alias Bettanagare Seena of Nelamangala was injured on his shoulder, and shifted to KR Hospital. His attacker, Balaji Rao alias Tibet, a rowdy from Mysore was  taken into custody.

Though Rao fired six times, only one bullet hit Seena. Police suspect that another rowdy, Bettanagare Manja, had contracted Rao to kill Seena. In a retaliatory strike, Seena’s men attacked Manja’s house in Nelamangala around 9.30 pm.

Seena was shifted to the Mysore jail from the central prison in Gulbarga after his cousin-turned-arch rival Bettanagare Shankar plotted his murder there. Seena was transferred to Mysore on January 2, after jailors in Gulbarga seized a revolver and two daggers from within the prison.

Preliminary investigation into shooting revealed that the pistol was smuggled in 20 days ago. The bullets were handed over to Rao by another rowdy, Prem, of Vidhyaranyapur in Mysore, during visiting hours on Thursday. In retaliation to the attempt on Seena’s life, 10 members of his gang attacked Bettanagare Manja’s house around 9.30 pm. Manja was away when the incident happened. His parents managed to flee the house unhurt.