From CT correspondent
BANTWAL: Even before the memories of recent phone calls allegedly made in the name of Madur Yousuf demanding hafta in crores of rupees could erase from the memory, yet another incident has created anxiety and tension in the area when two unidentified motor bike borne assailants reportedly shot at the glass panes of a jewellery shop owned by Suresh V Baliga at about 7.30 pm on Tuesday.
The incident has created a tense situation in the area. The staff inside the jewellery shop had observed motor bike borne riders driving at a breakneck speed at a time when there was sparse movement of the people on the streets and the pillion rider wearing black T-shirt firing bullets at the shop and vanishing into darkness. At this time the proprietor of the shop Suresh V Baliga was involved with a business transaction in a nearby jewellery shop. It was said that the police gunman was standing closeby. It has been suspected that the intention of the assailants was to threaten the proprietor.
The police had instantly stepped up their vigil at all the key points of the town. However, there has been no trace of the assailants. The bullets have bored a hole in the glasses of the shop which have been badly damaged in the incident. The fact that the bullet has not been traced so far has raised a suspicion whether it was indeed a bullet that had hit the glass.
Threats by underworld
A few days ago Suresh V Baliga had received threatening mobile calls reportedly made in the name of Madur Yousuf demanding hafta.
It has been widely suspected that the incident was intended as a stern reminder from the underworld. The police are investigating the entire case from this angle. During the investigations it came to light that the above calls were made from a public telephone booth from Saudi Arabia. The police had then closed the files of the case after considering the case as an insignificant incident. But this shoot out incident has sent shock waves among the business community here.
The fact that the proprietor of the shop Suresh V Baliga who had attempted to send a warning signal to the assailants by firing two shots in the air from his service revolver soon after the former shot at the glass of the shop and created an atmosphere of fear, has also generated a lot of curiosity. The eyewitnesses were quoted as saying that the assailants were speeding towards Baddukatte. The SP Dr. Subramanyeshwara Rao, Puttur ASP and other Police Officers have visited the spot and are guiding the investigation.
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