In an exemplary act of bravery, a 42-year-old police constable, Subhash Kantilal Pawar, not only foiled a robbery but also fired eight rounds of bullets at eight suspects in the wee hours of Friday at the Ekveera Devi temple near Karla Caves hills about 50 km from here.
In the incident, two policemen and a watchman sustained injuries after the suspects pelted stones at them. One of the suspects threw a stone at Pawar’s left eye. As a result, the eye socket sustained a fracture. Later, Pawar was admitted to a hospital in Lonavla.
According to the police, on Thursday night, Pawar was on night duty near the temple entrance gate. Around 2 am, about 15 suspects armed with iron rods came to the temple. They broke the gate and headed towards the temple. When Pawar saw the suspects, he raised an alarm and the suspects started pelting stones in Pawar’s direction. After a stone hit Pawar’s eye, he decided to open fire.
A police officer of Pune rural police told DNA, “Pawar fired eight rounds of bullets at the suspects and one of the suspects sustained injuries. After that, they decided to flee from the spot,’’ he said.
Moreover, another constable, who had gone to the foothills, came back after hearing the sound of firing but the suspects also pelted stones at him and he sustained minor injuries. A watchman of Archaeological Survey of India also sustained injuries.
The officer said, “The dacoits had divided themselves in two groups. A group of seven to eight dacoits were standing on the hilltop and were pelting stones while another group was near the temple. However, they failed to achieve their objective as Pawar retaliated bravely.’’
