• Armed gang opens fire on pharma truck 

• Bullet misses driver by inches  

• Driver escapes with truck reaching Mysuru 

• Daring incident at 4.45 am near Mandya 

Mysuru: In a daring wee-hour robbery attempt, an armed gang of five masked men opened fire at a commercial courier truck on the Mysuru-Bengaluru National Highway near Mandya after the driver refused to stop. The incident occurred at around 4.45 am near the underpass close to Amaravathi Hotel on the Mandya stretch of the Highway. 

According to sources, the Tata Canter courier vehicle was travelling from Bengaluru to Mysuru carrying mainly pharmaceutical supplies. The vehicle was being driven by Shankar, a resident of Gokulam in Mysuru, who was alone in the truck, with no other courier staff accompanying him. The consignment was to be delivered at Mandya office of the pharmaceutical unit.

As the truck approached the underpass near Amaravathi Hotel, Shankar noticed a black Toyota Fortuner SUV parked by the roadside. A man stepped out of the SUV and aggressively signalled the courier vehicle to stop. 

Suspecting foul play, Shankar ignored the signal and accelerated. The SUV, carrying five masked men, immediately began chasing the truck. 

After following the vehicle for nearly half-a-kilometre, the Fortuner overtook the truck and swerved across its path, positioning itself sideways in an apparent attempt to force the courier vehicle to halt. 

Narrow escape 

As Shankar tried to bring the truck under control, one of the occupants of the Fortuner pulled out a gun and fired a shot at the truck’s cabin.  

Displaying presence of mind, Shankar swerved sharply to the right, narrowly escaping the bullet. The shot missed him but shattered the side window of the vehicle. 

Within moments, two other vehicles happened to approach the spot from behind. Fearing they would be caught by the approaching motorists, the gang abandoned the robbery attempt, got back into the SUV and sped away towards Mysuru. 

Though badly shaken, Shankar managed to drive the damaged truck to his company’s office in Mandya. After unloading the scheduled pharmaceutical consignments, he continued to Mysuru in a state of panic.  

Out of panic and fearing for his safety, he did not immediately alert the Police, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) personnel stationed at the toll plaza or Highway Patrol personnel. 

After reaching Mysuru, Shankar informed his supervisors about the incident. The company has since asked him to lodge a Police complaint, and steps are underway to formally register a case. 

Mandya SP reacts 

“We have received information about the incident and have obtained the contact details of the driver,” said Mandya Superintendent of Police (SP) Dr. V.J. Shobharani. 

“We will speak to the Police personnel who were on night patrol duty and verify the facts. Our teams will collect CCTV footage from the scene of the incident as well as from nearby locations based on the timeline. We will also examine footage of vehicles that passed through the area, including the SUV used in the crime. In addition, we will analyse highway toll data and CCTV recordings to trace the vehicle and identify those involved,” she added. 

Sources said the courier truck driver Shankar has been summoned by the Mandya Police for further inquiry. Although an FIR has not yet been registered, the Police have begun a preliminary inquiry into the incident.