Bangalore, Feb. 3: A 16-year-old fired at two of his classmates from an air gun and injured them, apparently as revenge for ragging.

Ashok (name changed), who had been practising shooting on his first-floor terrace for days, waited for Charan Kumar, 15, and Arun Kumar, 16, to come into view near the house on their way home yesterday afternoon before firing twice.

The pellets hit Charan on his forearm and Arun on his leg. Passers-by called a nearby police patrol vehicle and rushed the boys to Victoria Hospital, not far from the shooting scene in the middle-class Girinagar area. The boys were sent home after surgery to remove the pellets.

The incident comes less than two months after two Class VIII students shot dead a classmate who they said had been tormenting them at a Gurgaon school.

In Bangalore, too, there were warning signs. Ashok, said to be a bright Class X student, was allegedly teased often by a bunch of boys led by Arun. A fortnight ago, teachers at Swami Vivekananda School had to intervene when the boys got into a scuffle.

None of the parents had complained till last night, prompting police to lodge a suo motu case and book Ashok under the juvenile act. He will be produced before the juvenile justice board on Monday, officers said.

Charan’s father R.C. Kumar said he did not file a complaint as it involved his son’s classmate and board exams are due in March.

The police said they would question Ashok’s father, whom they did not name, for presenting his son with the air gun on his birthday recently. The boy had claimed initially that the gun belonged to his father but later admitted it was a gift. No licences are needed for air guns. It is rare for anyone to be killed by an air gun pellet.