Two open fire at policemen

One of the two burglars, Shahid S Pathan (36) from Delhi, was later overpowered by the policemen. His accomplice, however, succeeded in making good his escape while the policemen and residents were trying to snatch the revolver from Shahid.

Shahid, who fell down during the fisticuffs, suffered some injuries on his head. He has been admitted to Sassoon Hospital. The policemen also suffered some bruises in the fight.

Top police officials said Shahid’s arrest was an outcome of the presence of mind shown by Mangesh R Joshi, a youth residing at Shri Harekrishna bungalow in Sant Eknath Nagar housing society at Bibvewadi, who spotted them while attempting a burglary at an adjoining bungalow and alerted the police.

Police said Shahid and his accomplice had scaled the compound wall of the bungalow adjacent to Joshi’s residence around 2.30 am. Joshi, who woke up due to the barking of his dog, came out of his residence and tried to nab the two burglars single-handedly. But, Shahid and his accomplice fled after threatening to shoot down Joshi.

Joshi alerted the policemen at the nearby Bibvewadi police chowki on telephone. Constables Dagade and Gawali rushed to the spot along with Phadtare who happened to be present at the police chowki at the time.

The policemen decided to comb the entire area with the help of some upright citizens. A few minutes later, they spotted Shahid and his accomplice walking down near the Indraprastha building on Pune-Satara road which is located about one-and-a-half km from the Sant Eknath Nagar housing society.

Shahid tried to open fire and escape as the policemen tried to apprehend him. However, the bullets got stuck in the barrel of his country-made revolver. Later, the policemen overpowered him and snatched away the revolver.

Several senior police officials including Deputy Commissioner Sanjiv Kumar Singhal, Assistant Commissioners Prakash Limaye and P N Ingale as well as inspectors Shirish Shinde and Vilas Jadhav rushed to the spot after receiving reports of the incident.

Shahid and his accomplice were charged with attempting to murder the policemen, obstructing the policemen while they were discharging their duty, common intention and possessing the country-made revolver illegally.