Bengaluru: The Bengaluru acid attack case took a twist yesterday with the accused, identified as Nagesh Babu, being shot in the leg by Police when he allegedly attacked a Constable and tried to escape near Kengeri around 1.30 am.

Nagesh, who threw acid on a 24-year-old woman on Apr. 28, was being brought to the city after his arrest at Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu on Friday. The Police said that they had to shoot Nagesh in the leg as he attempted to escape from custody.

The Police shot Nagesh on the right leg while he attempted to escape from them on the pretext of attending nature’s call. He has been admitted to a hospital. The Police said the accused had attacked constable Mahadevaiah with stones while the latter caught him.

As the Police teams were nearing Bengaluru, Nagesh requested the Policemen to allow him to attend nature’s call. The Police stopped near Kengeri Bridge and soon after getting down from the jeep, he picked up some stones and tried to attack Mahadevaiah.

Inspector Prashanth opened fire at his right leg to immobilise him. The Police have now sought his custody for interrogation. Nagesh had disguised himself as a priest and was staying at an ashram. He went about clad in saffron and pretended to be a spiritual man. Police personnel also went to the ashram as devotees and after observing him, managed to get clues about him and finally nabbed him.

Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Kamal Pant said Nagesh had planned to attack the victim in 2020 also and even purchased acid. But he had changed his mind. For the latest attack, he had bought acid from a private company.

“The efforts that were put into this case have never been put to any other case this year. No case has ever received such efforts and attention ever. The investigations have shown that the accused had pre-planned the act and told his family to vacate the house and disappear,” the Commissioner said. The Commissioner announced a cash reward of Rs. 5 lakh to the Police team for tracing and arresting Nagesh.