HAVERI: After exactly one month, Haveri police arrested Manjunath Patil, who allegedly opened fire at Vasantakumar Mugali of Shiggaon taluk in a movie theatre on April 19.
Police arrested the accused near the Mundagod bus stop in Karwar district on Thursday morning and will produce him before the Haveri district and sessions court.
“After the incident, we formed two teams involving circle inspectors Basavaraj Halabannavar, MI Goudappa Gouder, Santosh Patil, PSIs Mahantesh MM, Srishail Pattanashetty, Parashuram Kattimani, and other personnel to trace Patil. Our team caught him and recovered a pistol, 15 live bullets, two empty cokas, one scooter, and a mobile from the accused,” claimed Haveri SP Hanumantharaya.
“We have arrested another accused Ismail, a resident of Bankapur who helped Patil escape and also gave him some money. Patil had been moving from one place to another frequently. He travelled to Goa, Maharashtra, Bengaluru and Madhya Pradesh. We were chasing him by tracking his mobile. But he didn’t have any contact with his family members. We will request to the court to hand him to police custody to conduct a detailed enquiry,” he said.
Hanumantharaya noted that as per the preliminary inquiry, Patil is not a habitual offender. “But we need an investigation regarding the illegal weapon and where it was purchased. We will file a charge sheet to the court after conducting a detailed inquiry and we will book him proper sections,” he said.
Shoot out in theatre
On April 19, a 24-year-old man had sustained severe injuries after Manjunath Patil allegedly opened fire at him at Rajashri theatre in Shiggaon. The injured is Vasantakumar Mugali, a resident of Mugali village in the taluk.
The incident occurred when the film KGF chapter-2 was being screened at the theatre. Patil had fired two bullets at Vasanatakumar and one bullet in the air. The victim is still admitted at KIMS, Hubballi and is undergoing treatment .
