Dacoity foiled, injured desperado escapes

The lawyer, Lalit Mohan M Kaushal (56) has lodged a first information report (FIR) at the Dehu Road police station.

Lalit Mohan, his wife Kavita, sons Bipin and Rohit, nephew Ajay, Bipin’s wife Vandana and seven-month-old granddaughter Arushi were present at the bungalow when the incident took place around 3 am.

The Kaushals woke up when their Doberman started barking and peeped out of the windows. Lalit Mohan noticed a man trying to remove the glass panes on a window of the drawing room while Bipin saw two unidentified men attempting to break open the window of his bedroom.

Alarmed, Lalit Mohan telephoned the Dehu Road police and summoned help. He also threatened to open fire at the dacoits who dared him in turn, Rohit told this paper.

A little while later, Lalit Mohan fetched his 12 bore gun and fired a bullet out of the window. The bullet broke the glass pane and hit the unidentified man. The man collapsed in a pool but his accomplices shifted him and fled towards the rear side of the bungalow before the police could arrive.

The police found five pairs of chappals, two swords and a sheath abandoned outside the bungalow. A sniffer dog, which was summoned to the spot from Pune, could not pick up the trail as it had rained.

Rohit said the Kaushals have been residing in the bungalow located at Sheetalanagar near the Katraj-Dehu Road bypass road since 1987. The secluded bungalow stands on a plot adjoining to the crematory. The nearest house to the bungalow is at a distance of about 200 meters.