An altercation between a landlord and his tenant turned ugly after the latter opened fire, in Amruthalli police station limits on Tuesday. The bullet, however, hit a 35-year-old plumber in his left leg after the landlord managed to duck when he was fired at. The landlord, D.K. Madhu, who works for a construction company, told the police that Prakash Gowda, a realtor, was staying in the third floor of his building on 21st Cross, Jai Bhuvaneshwari Nagar in Dasarahalli near Hebbal for the last four-and-half-years.
The rental agreement had expired in December 2011, but Gowda refused to vacate the house. A complaint in this regard was also registered earlier and Gowda is said to have been arrested and sent to jail. Gowda came out of jail on bail and continued to stay in the same house refusing to vacate it, police said. On Tuesday, around 11.45 am, the plumber Sibin Mathew had come to the building to fix a leaking water tap, accompanied by the house owner Madhu, who stays in another portion of the building in the same compound.
The landlord, who saw Gowda again, asked him to vacate the house. When Gowda refused, Madhu got into a verbal spat with him. In a fit of rage, Gowda opened one round of fire at Madhu with his .22 licensed revolver, but the bullet accidentally hit Sibin’s left leg, police said. The Amruthalli police have taken Gowda into custody and seized the fire arm. The injured Sibin was brought to the hospital around 1.15 pm on Tuesday and a surgery was conducted in the evening to dislodge the bullet. His condition is stable and he is recovering, said Mr Jeremy D’Souza, general manager, Columbia Asia Hospital, Hebbal.