Kalaburagi: In a swift joint operation, police and villagers foiled an alleged robbery bid and apprehended two members of a five-member gang after a dramatic chase near Alanga Cross in Aland taluk of Kalaburagi district.
The arrested have been identified as Dattatreya Mulage, 25, and Ganesh Biradar, 22. They received credible information that five armed men were lying in wait to rob motorists and passersby near a road bridge at Alanga Cross on the Khajuri border-Tadola village route between 1.30pm and 5pm on Tuesday, according to police. As the operation unfolded, 10 to 15 villagers, including Vishwanath Patil, Vitthal Mane and Subhash Kalashetti, joined the police in tracking down the suspects.
Police have launched a search for three absconding accused, identified as Sanju alias Sanjay Singh, Karthik Kallappa Bokale and Dattu Venkat Jamadar.
Police said one of the accused fired two rounds from a pistol while attempting to evade capture, while the remaining three escaped into a nearby sugarcane field. Sanju fired the pistol before fleeing the scene, according to investigators. Acting on the tip-off, a team led by PSI Chandrakant rushed to the spot. Sensing that the police and villagers were closing in, one gang member allegedly fired two rounds into the air, triggering panic in the area. The accused then tried to flee through a sugarcane field. Following a chase, police and villagers managed to overpower and detain Dattatreya and Ganesh. An iron sword measuring about three feet, a mobile phone, a face-covering cloth and chilli powder were seized from them. A case has been registered at Aland police station, and efforts are on to trace and arrest the remaining suspects.