Man injured as bank security officer's gun misfires

BANGALORE: A 35-year-old customer walking into a bank was injured after the double-barrel gun of a security officer accidentally went off on West of Chord Road, near Industrial Town, Rajajinagar around 11am Monday.
KP Agrahara resident Chandru was walking into the State Bank of India branch when he heard a deafening sound which was followed by a stinging pain in his left leg.It took a while for him and people nearby to realize that the gun of the security officer accompanying a cash transfer vehicle by the roadside had gone off. The bullet hit the bank's steps and the splinters had ricocheted and grazed against Chandru's leg.
Security officer Sampath Raj, 58, was arrested by Magadi Road police. "I was following standard operating procedures. The weapon was loaded and I was on high alert with my finger on the trigger as the money was being transferred. After the transaction, I was getting into the jeep when the gun hit the door. As my finger was still on the trigger, the gun went off," said Sampath Raj.
The bullet hit the steps at the bank entrance and the splinters slammed the road below. One such splinter hit Chandru just as he was entering the bank. He was rushed to hospital, where he was given first aid and discharged in the afternoon. Doctors said the wound was very minor and he was all right.
Police said Sampath Raj had retired as a Naik from the Corps of Signals. After retiring from the Army, he was working as a security officer with SBI for eight years. Sampath Raj was deputed to the vehicle handling cash flow between various branches in the city.