Toy pistol, real trouble: Bengaluru–Mangaluru highway video lands 3 graduates in police net; Rs 150 gun triggers Arms Act case | Bengaluru News

BENGALURU: What began as a moment of misplaced fun for three engineering graduates travelling through Ramanagar district ended with a police case, a station bail, and a sharp lesson in public responsibility.Sunday afternoon, Kudur police arrested the trio after a video of one of them pointing what appeared to be a pistol from a moving car went viral on social media. The case was registered suo motu under the Arms Act and BNS sections pertaining to public nuisance, after the clip drew widespread criticism online. The three were later released on station bail.

Police investigations, however, revealed that the weapon was not real. It was a toy gun bought for Rs 150 from a roadside vendor outside a temple earlier that day.The video, captured on the dashcam of another vehicle, shows a hatchback cruising along the Bengaluru–Mangaluru highway. The man seated next to the driver extends his left hand out of the window, pointing the pistol-like object as the car moves. Uploaded online, the clip quickly spread, prompting concern among viewers who believed it showed a real firearm.Ramanagar SP Srinivas Gowda told TOI that officers traced the location to Talakere, near Kunigal. The incident had taken place on Jan 16. Using the car’s licence plate, police reached the house of one of the students in Vijayanagar Sunday afternoon, and then located the other two at Byadarahalli. The toy gun was seized, and all three were brought to Kudur police station by evening.“The students were in real shock when we reached their doorstep,” an investigating officer said. “They knew it was a toy, but people who saw the video did not. Anyone would assume it was a real pistol.”According to police, the three graduates had recently completed their engineering degrees and were searching for jobs. They had visited a temple in Chikkamagaluru to pray for employment. After leaving the temple, they bought the toy gun.Later, while driving back, they watched social media reels showing a man holding a gun. Imitating the clip, one of them reenacted the scene on the highway, unaware of the consequences that would follow.