Belagavi: The six sharp-shooters who were taken into custody by the Belagavi police, made a startling revelation on Thursday that they were about to carry out a bloody attempt to get their associate, Dinesh Shetty, free from Hindalga Central Prison.
During the interrogation, the arrested said, on the pretext of ill-health, Shetty would convince jail authorities to take him to Belagavi Civil Hospital and the sharpshooters would attack the vehicle mid-way to free him from police.
According to police sources, the group had already informed their plans to Dinesh Shetty, who is facing a life term in Hindalga prison for his involvement in the murder of Naushad, a lawyer from Mangaluru, a few months ago.
The arrested admitted that they had planned to attack brutally the convoy and guards who would take Shetty to hospital from the jail if the situation demanded. However, an alert team of Belagavi police officials traced and arrested six of them before they executed their plans late on Wednesday evening. Another gang member managed to escape near Rex Lodge in the city.
According to the police, the shooters arrived in Belagavi few days ago, checked in to Rex Lodge near city bus terminus and surveyed the premises of the Civil Hospital and the route from Hindalga Prison to the hospital. The shooters also had conducted a mock operation to make sure that they got Shetty freed from the police custody under any circumstances, sources said.
Dinesh Shetty, also a sharp shooter, was arrested after the death of Naushad in Mangaluru. Many cases have been registered against Shetty in several police stations in the State as he was allegedly involved in many criminal cases even before he was booked for the murder of Naushad.
The arrested shooters have been identified as Veera Madanreddy from Bengaluru, Avinash Marke from Mumbai, Mahammad Hanif Abubakar and Abdul Karim from Dakshina Kannada, Amjad Sayad Abdul Rahman from Mumbai and Tahir Hussain from Bengaluru. Another suspect, Gulfan of Bengaluru is still at large.
While five of the suspects were arrested from Rex Lodge, Tahir Hussain from Bengaluru was apprehended at Sambra airport while he was about to board a flight to Bengaluru. A large quantity of sharp weapons was also seized from their possession during the arrest.
