Twenty out of the 50 cartridges which went missing from T. Narsipur police station were fished out of the waters from Kapila river near here on Tuesday.
Based on information extracted from Krishne Gowda, the writer of the police station, who had been arrested after the live cartridges went missing, a team of expert divers arranged by the police searched for them in the river near Nanjangud.
“We have recovered 20 cartridges from the river, which had been carefully placed in a pouch, which was in turn put in a plastic cover, before being thrown in the waters”, a police official involved in the investigation told The Hindu. The search for the remaining 30 cartridges is underway.
The disappearance of cartridges from the police station came to light earlier this month when officials of the District Armed Reserve (DAR) were preparing an inventory of arms and ammunition. The cartridges are used in .303 rifles in the armoury of the police.
The district police led by Superintendent of Police C.B. Ryshyanth registered a FIR.
Days after a case was registered and an investigation had begun, Krishne Gowda, who had been suspended from service, reportedly faked a suicide drama.
About a week ago, he went to the banks of the river in Mannehundi village in T. Narsipur taluk on his motorcycle, removed his clothes and left them behind along with his motorcycle before fleeing from the spot to mislead the police that he had committed suicide.
Meanwhile, he reached Hunsur and was arranging for a getaway car when the police received a tip-off and arrested him.
During interrogation, Krishne Gowda is believed to have revealed that he threw 20 cartridges in the river. “He may have thrown them in the river soon after the cartridges were found missing and a case was registered”, a police official said.
