Cigarette truck hijack drama ends after chase, shooting in Bangalore

Police inspector T Rangappa ignored the excruciating pain on his fractured right arm and pulled out his service revolver with his left hand and fired twice to arrest a gang of highway robbers on APJ Abdul Kalam Main Road in Govindapura near KG Halli early on Tuesday.

Rangappa was one among four policemen injured in the attack by the armed gang, which had earlier hijacked a container lorry ferrying cigarettes. The gang surrendered after one of them suffered severe bullet wounds in the thigh.

The police said they had arrested five persons. Two of the alleged robbers managed to escape.

The gang attacked the police when the latter intercepted the hijacked lorry and a tailing SUV after a cinema-style chase.

“The lorry and Tata Sumo, followed by police vehicles overtook my car. One of the police vehicles blocked the lorry. I was horrified to see a few men, armed with machetes, knives and iron rods, and attacked the police. I was shocked and stopped my car,” Tannery Road resident and businessman Khaleem, who witnessed the action around 4.45 am, said.

The businessman later said he was relieved to see the police overpowering the gang. He sounded excited to have witnessed the real life action thriller.

Khaleem was returning home after dropping off his relatives at Sarayipalya near Thanisandra when he witnessed the drama.
The police said the gang had earlier waylaid and hijacked the Hyderabad-bound lorry near Devanahalli bypass. They took the cleaner of the lorry, Anand Kumar, hostage and were taking the vehicle to an undisclosed location.

Deputy commissioner of police (east) M Chandrasekhar said the police spanned out in search of the lorry, and put up barricades at several locations.

KG Halli police inspector Rangappa and team were searching vehicles at Nagavara junction around 4.30 am, when they found the lorry, matching the description of the hijacked one, moving on Tannery Road towards KG Halli. They also found a Tata Sumo escorting the heavy vehicle.

Rangappa and his men chased the lorry after it ignored orders to stop. The gangsters took a left turn at Govindapura junction onto Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Main Road, in a bid to shake off the tailing police.

The police, however, intercepted the vehicles. Instead of surrendering, the gangsters preferred to attack the police, which left Rangappa, head constable Bhimanna, constables Rangadhamaiah and Siraj injured.

It was then the inspector opened fire, and injured one of the gangsters, Harsha of Tavarekere, the police said. Once Harsha slumped onto the road, the police team pounced on the robbers and arrested Rajesh of Vijayanagar, Ravi of Magadi Road, Anand of Channapattana and Sumo driver Ravi of Mahadevapur. The accused were all aged between 25 and 27.

The injured men, including Harsha, were taken to the nearby Dr BR Ambedkar Medical College. Inspector Rangappa was later shifted to the Hosmat Hospital, where he underwent a surgery on his fractured arm.

The police said the injured accused was still in hospital, while the policemen, except Rangappa, have been discharged.

The KG Halli police registered a case against the accused for assaulting police officers and also attempting to murder them. A search has been launched for the escaped duo.