E-Paper
Pune: Thief tries to shoot nabber, bites him; held
A resident of Shukrawar Peth in Pune was injured after an armed thief, who tried to break into a house in broad daylight, bit and fired at him on Thursday afternoon
A resident of Shukrawar Peth in Pune was injured after an armed thief, who tried to break into a house in broad daylight, bit and fired at him on Thursday afternoon.
The incident happened at a building Henna Tower where the injured and his family resided on two flats. A female accomplice of the accused ran away while the shooter engaged with the injured man, according to senior inspector Shrihari Bahirat of Khadak police station.
The arrested was identified as Vitthal Vaman Bhole (47). He has a history of housebreaking and theft cases in Pune, according to the police. In the past few months, Bhole is suspected to be involved in 4-5 cases in Pune district and has a murder case registered against him in 1994.
The injured was identified as Abid Salim Ansari (22) who runs a snacks centre. Ansari’s family owns a flat on the first floor of the building from where the thief planned his escape.
“I had come home in the afternoon. I came out of the house and saw the thief escaping. He took out a gun and fired shots before I could catch him, but I was close enough and nabbed him. He then tried to use a knife, but as he couldn’t use it, he fired three more shots but I held on to him before neighbours overpowered him. Soon, police arrived and took him away,” said Ansari.
While the bullet did not injure Ansari, the man bit him and caused deep gashes on his arm while trying to wrestle out of his grip.
“The injured came home to see that his brother was not at homem but the door was opened. Ansari suffered a bullet injury and the man bit him as well,” said PI Bahirat.
The man has suffered injuries at two places on his left forearm. The police believe primarily facie that the man fired two shots.
A weapon and a live cartridge were recovered from his possession.
One of the shots that he fired landed on the security gate of the building, leaving a mark on the gate and a casing in the floor, according to the police.
A case in the matter was registered at Khadak police station under Sections 459 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code as well as relevant sections of Arms Act.
