Cattle trader maimed in 'shootout' dies at hospital

Mangalore, August 6: A Padubidri based cattle trader, who was critically injured after being shot in the head, chest and abdomen in the wee hours of Saturday in Mudigere taluk of Chikmagalur district, died at a private hospital in the city.

The deceased is Kalandar (30), a resident of Kanchinadka near Padubidri. He had been admitted to Intensive Care Unit at the hospital in the morning.

Hospital sources said that the injured did not respond to any treatment and breathed his last in the evening. Doctors found nine pellets in his body. The dead body was handed over to the family members after completing formalities in the presence of police officers.

Chikmagalur Superintendent of Police Vikas Kumar based on a complaint said that Kalandar was among a group of suspected thieves who had come in a vehicle, allegedly for stealing cattle from the farm house of one Nagesh Gowda in Jenubailu near Gonibeedu village in Mudigere Taluk around 3:00 am.

Mr Gowda, who lodged a complaint at Goonibeedu police station, said that he woke up hearing the sounds of dogs barking around 3:00 am, and peeped out of the window of the farm house, to witness the alleged thieves trying to steal his cattle in the dark using a white vehicle, most probably a Tata Somo.

“To protect the cattle from thieves I fired seven or eight pellets from my licensed barrel bridge loader gun. Within a few seconds the thieves fled away,” the complainant said.

Mr Vikas said that only one person among the gang was injured in the incident and before admitting at a hospital in Mangalore, he had taken treatment at Government Hospital in Belthangdy “under the guise of an accident victim”

Relatives' Version of Story

Relatives of Kalander in Padubidri said that they received a telephone call from an unknown number around 4:50 am, when they just had finished Sahri, the pre-dawn meal, saying that Kalandar was shot at by assailants and he is in critical condition.

“It seems that the some miscreants might have fired at him through a country made gun at around 3:30 am. On sighting a heavily bleeding man lying unconscious on the ground at Mudigere Hand-Post, local people informed the local police,” said one of the relatives of Kalandar.

“As desired by the family members, the injured was initially taken to Belthangady Government Hospital for emergency treatment through an 108 vehicle. Doctors there suggested to shift the injured to a hospital in Mangalore, as his condition was critical,” he said.

“Khalander had left for Mudigere on Friday evening”, he informed.

Kalander is the eldest son among two children of Late Abdul Khadir and Nafeesa couple. His brother Thoufeeq works in a gulf country.