Farmer dies fighting dacoits

• Bid to steal sheep foiled
• Sabita Reddy visits village, assures all help to family

Hyderabad: A gang of dacoits struck terror in Kaveliguda village near Shamshabad on the outskirts of the city in the early hours of Sunday. Their bid to take away sheep from the farmers was foiled by the villagers but it resulted in the death of a farmer. Mekala Mallesh (48), who ventured to take on th dacoits head on, made a vain bid to stop their vehicle, but accidentally came under its wheel and succumbed to injuries. Irate villagers who chased the gang caught one of the members, while three others managed to escape by abandoning the car which crashed into a tree in the melee. The police too arrived in the village, but they had a taste of the people's displeasure for being too late. The villagers declined to part with the gangster in their captivity. Finally Home Minister P Sabita Indra Reddy rushed to the place and pacified the villagers by assuring them of steps to put up a police outpost to avoid a repeat of such instances. The gangster identified to be Majid, was thrashed by the villagers before he was handed over to the Shamshabad rural police. The police said that Mallesh had boldly managed to get hold of the cab steering in a bid to stop it, but he was dragged to a distance of 50-60 metres in the process. He slipped and came under the vehicle, resulting in serious injuries, Mallesh died at a private hospital in Shamshabad. The villagers had heated arguments with the police and staged a sit-in protest demanding the arrest of the intruders, who are suspected to be from the Old City. Home Minister Sabita Indra Reddy accompanied by Rajendranagar MLA Prakash Goud, consoled the family of Mallesh and offered government support. Prakash Goud urged the government to sanction an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh to the victim's family. Cyberabad DCP Ramesh and ACP Srinivas also visited Kaveli- guda. Local Congress and TDP leaders offered condolences to the bereaved family.