Acid attacker shot at by police in Bengaluru after attempt to flee
Bengaluru(PTI): An absconding accused in an acid attack case was allegedly shot at by a police team that was escorting him back to the city from neighbouring Tamil Nadu on Saturday, after he assaulted the head constable in a bid to escape.
When police permitted to relieve himself, Nagesh (34) allegedly attacked Mahadevaiah, attached to the Kamakshipalya police station, with an intention to flee at around 1:30 am, as they were nearing Kengeri here, police said.
After warning him several times, the police inspector opened fire and the bullet hit Nagesh on his right leg. Both the injured persons were rushed to a hospital.
Nagesh on the morning of April 28 had attacked a 25-year-old woman working in a gold finance firm with acid in front of her office, as she refused to accept his marriage proposal.
The victim is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital here and is said to be out of danger. The state government has decided to take care of her medical expenses.
Sharing details of Nagesh's arrest, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant said he was arrested on Friday night at Tiruvannamalai.
"He had gone to Tiruvannamalai on the same day of the crime, as he believed that people go there after committing crime or mistake for penance, and started living there wearing saffron clothes. He was not using mobile, laptop, electronic card or anything that reveals his identity," Pant told reporters here.
The Commissioner said unable to trace him the police decided to put up his posters at all the major temples in different parts of the country and those which he frequented.
Subsequently, they received a call sharing information about a person resembling the accused present there, and the informer shared his photo.
The police team that was in Tiruvannamalai tactfully made Nagesh reveal his identity and later took him into custody.
Pant said, "There is enough evidence regarding the case, we will soon file a charge sheet and request the court for a speedy trial."
With a confused mind after the incident, Nagesh had even planned to commit suicide by jumping into the lake near Hoskote, on the outskirts of the city, he added.
The Commissioner further said a case was registered at the Kamakshipalya police station here and senior police officials monitored the case on a daily basis and nabbed the accused in 16 days.
The accused and the victim resided in the same building 7 years ago, during which he had tried to make friends with her, but she had objected to it and her family had ensured that he moved out of the place.
According to the information available, the accused had a friend residing in the building with whom he had business dealings as well, and through him he used to get all the information about her.
"We have come to know from the investigation that he used to stalk her and on getting to know that preparations were on by the family to get the woman married, he became restless and desperate and had made a failed attempt to convince her family by meeting her uncle and aunt," Pant said.
Realising that the victim and her family wouldn't agree, he decided to attack her with acid and purchased it on April 20 from a lab by misusing the letterhead and email of a housekeeping company, where he had worked earlier, the commissioner said.
During investigation, it was also found that in 2020, the accused had purchased acid in a similar method, but did not use it then.
On April 27, Nagesh once again tried to meet the woman with a marriage proposal at her office, but she "bluntly rejected" it and her office manager also had warned him.
On April 28, he once again had gone to the woman's office and attacked her with acid and escaped from the spot.
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Punjab: AAP wins Zila parishad, Panchayat polls stamp of approval for Mann govt, says Kejriwal
Chandigarh (PTI): The ruling Aam Aadmi Party registered an emphatic victory in the rural body elections in Punjab, winning 63 per cent zones of zila parishads and 54 per cent zones of panchayat samitis.
According to the results of elections declared on Thursday, the Congress secured the second spot, while the Shiromani Akali Dal got the third. The BJP was at the fourth position in the rural polls.
Meanwhile, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal said his party's strong showing in the elections showed that people in rural areas put their stamp of approval on the Bhagwant Mann-led government.
Complete results of the polls came on Thursday after the completion of counting of ballot papers, which began on Tuesday.
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Polling was held on December 14 to elect members for 347 zones of 22 zila parishads and 2,838 zones of 153 panchayat samitis.
In zila parishad, AAP registered victory in 218 zones, while the Congress won 62 zones.
The Sukhbir Singh Badal-led SAD got 46 zones, BJP seven, BSP three and Independents 10.
In case of panchayat samitis, AAP won 1,531 zones, while the Congress secured 612 and SAD 445 zones. The BJP registered victory in 73 zones and the BSP in 28 zones. Independents won 144 zones, according to the result.
Reacting to the result, Kejriwal said it showed that there was a wave in favour of his party in the state.
"It shows that people in rural areas have put their stamp of approval on works undertaken by the AAP government under the leadership of Bhagwant Mann," he said as he spoke about anti-drug drive, canal water reaching fields after a "gap of 75 years", free electricity, and government jobs on merit basis.
Kejriwal also vehemently rejected the Opposition's accusations of "high-handedness" in the polling and asserted that the elections were conducted in fair and free manner.
Though the poll results showed a resounding victory of the ruling party in rural areas, the Congress and SAD also challenged AAP at some of the zones.
The poll results suggested that the Congress gave a tough fight to the ruling party in SBS Nagar, Rupnagar, Ferozepur, Jalandhar and Ludhiana while SAD made its presence felt in Muktsar, Faridkot and Bathinda.
In zila parishads, the Congress secured six zones out of 10 in SBS Nagar, five out of 10 in Rupnagar, six out of 14 in Ferozepur, seven out of 21 in Jalandhar, and eight out of 25 in Ludhiana.
In panchayat samitis, the grand old party got 34 out of 82 zones in SBS Nagar, 50 out of 93 in Rupnagar, 61 out of 188 in Jalandhar and 73 out of 235 in Ludhiana.
SAD showed strong performance in the zila parishad of Bathinda where it won 13 out of 17 zones, seven out of 13 in Muktsar and five out of 10 in Faridkot.
In panchayat samitis, the Badal-led outfit won 79 zones out of 137 in Bathinda, 25 of 65 in Faridkot and 48 of 95 in Muktsar, the results showed.
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The BJP won three zones of Fazilka zila parishad and four in Pathankot zila parishad.
Meanwhile, the candidates backed by gangster-turned-politician Gurmeet Singh Sekhon won the Bajidpur and Ferozeshah zones in Ferozepur. These candidates were also supported by SAD.
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring accused the AAP government of "stealing" polls.
"@AAPPunjab may bask in STOLEN GLORY of 'sweeping' the rural mandate, but it knows pretty well where it stands. We know it. They know it. People of Punjab know it. They have NOT swept the elections, they have STOLEN these," Warring alleged in a post on X.
Opposition parties Congress and SAD had earlier accused the ruling AAP of indulging in high-handedness and misusing the official machinery against opposition candidates.
