Madikeri: Some unknown assailants fired gunshots on the car in which advocate and Kodagu District President of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) P. Krishnamurthy was travelling at around 11.30 pm on Wednesday.

Krishnamurthy’s car was attacked near Abbyala on the Chettalli-Madikeri Road when he was returning to his residence at Madikeri. The bullet only hit the car and Krishnamurthy escaped unhurt. It is suspected that the accused must have shot from behind a roadside bush.

In a statement to the Police, Krishnamurthy said that he met his friend and fellow advocate Ballaranda Kanti Cariappa at Chettalli around 7 pm. Kanti Cariappa is also the Chettalli Gram Panchayat member.

“We proceeded towards Kushalnagar to meet VHP worker Vinu and Bajrang Dal worker Shivaswami. After dinner at Kushalnagar, I offered to drop Kanti Cariappa at Chettalli,” he told the Police.

“It was 9.50 pm when we reached Chettalli from Kushalnagar and after dropping Kanti Cariappa at Ponnathmotte, I left towards Madikeri via Chettalli Road,” he stated.

The car reached Abbyala at around 11 pm when Krishnamurthy heard a thud sound and one of the side windshields of the car shattered into pieces as a bullet pierced through. “I realised that someone wanted to kill me but missed the target. I immediately sped away and reached Madikeri Rural Police Station,” Krishnamurthy narrated in his complaint. 

The Police suspect that the assailants knew the timing of Krishnamurthy passing the stretch in his car and had fired the .22 gun as the car was moving on the Abbyala Road. The criminals might have been lying in wait for the car to pass.

Kodagu SP K. Ramarajan visited the pot and the car has been subjected to forensic examination. A complaint in this regard has been filed at the Madikeri Rural Police Station and the Police are on the hunt for the shooters.

Virajpet MLA K.G. Bopaiah has termed the attempt on Krishnamurthy’s life an act of cowardice. Speaking to reporters at Bhagamandala, he said that several anti-national elements and the banned PFI were behind the killing of Praveen Nettaru in Sullia last year and they were provided training in Kodagu.

“I have asked the Police to break the back of terror organisations,” he said.

Meanwhile, the VHP and the Madikeri Advocates Association have condemned the shooting and have demanded immediate arrest of the culprits.

The Police must not allow anti-social elements to thrive in Kodagu, they demanded.