ROURKELA: Six suspected members of Jharkhand Liberation Tiger (JLT) on Saturday night set afire a rice-laden truck and fired two bullets at vehicle driver Md Bablu when he tried to flee after an accident.
The incident occurred at the Nuagaon block’s Sorda area, about 45 km from Rourkela, under the Maoist-infested Bisra police limits in Sundargarh. Police reportedly found the rice consignment illegal.
As per reports, the truck was carrying the contraband from Bano in adjacent Jharkhand when around 6 pm, the vehicle hit one Sama Munda between Luaram and Katepur, injuring him critically. Following the incident, the vehicle was detained by villagers and around 9.50 pm, the driver tried to flee with the truck only to be chased by six miscreants. The motorcycle-borne miscreants then intercepted the vehicle at Sorda.
They fired four rounds of which, two bullets hit the driver in his leg. The miscreants using the fuel in the truck burnt the front portion of the truck.
Receiving information, police and CRPF personnel visited the area. The injured Munda and the driver have been admitted to the Ispat General Hospital at Rourkela. SP Himanshu Lal said verification is on to ascertain if the miscreants were JLT members or local criminals.