Horse stable waste dispute: Kozhikode man shoots at woman, held

Kozhikode: A dispute over waste from a horse stable took a dangerous turn in Kozhikode when a 40-year-old man allegedly opened fire at his neighbour after she questioned him about dumping the waste near her property.

The incident occurred on Sunday morning at the courtyard of the accused’s house on B G Road near Vellayil beach in the city. Police identified the accused as Shimjith, 40, a native of Karuvissery.

According to police, Shimjith had been rearing two horses in a stable built close to the boundary of his neighbour Pushpa’s property. The area around the stable was allegedly unhygienic and smelled foul. Pushpa questioned him about the waste being dumped nearby, after which an argument broke out.

Police said Shimjith, allegedly harbouring a grudge over the dispute, took out a firearm he had with him and fired at Pushpa with the intention of killing her. She suffered serious injuries to the right side of her abdomen and the left side of her chest.

The Vellayil police registered a case and launched an investigation, eventually taking Shimjith into custody. Police said the shooting was not the first dispute involving the accused. He had allegedly been involved in repeated quarrels with neighbours and has several cases registered against him.

According to police, 6.35 litres of beer had earlier been seized from his house after it was allegedly kept for sale. He also allegedly attacked a youth with an iron rod with the intention to kill him after the latter questioned him over the illegal sale of liquor. In another case, police allegedly seized 17 litres of Indian-made foreign liquor and around 4.5 litres of beer kept for sale from his house.

A team led by Vellayil police sub-inspectors Harish and Baijunath took the accused into custody. After recording his arrest, police produced him before a court.