BHUBANESWAR: A 45-year-old man was shot dead by unidentified persons at Tangi in Khurda district on Sunday night. Sources said Ramesh Rout of Radhamohanpur village was reportedly shot at on Chandaneswar-Radhamohanpur road in Tangi at around 10.30 pm. While Ramesh’s family told the police he did not have any past enmity with anyone, it is yet to ascertained whether the murder was pre-planned.
“The persons involved in the crime are absconding. The possibility of one of them accidentally opening fire on Ramesh during a friendly conversation is also not being ruled out. Efforts are on to identify the persons and nab them,” said a police officer adding the case is being investigated from all angles.
This is the second such incident reported from Khurda district in the last two weeks. On June 7, one Somnath Bhujabal (30) of Saguan Bagicha within Khurda Model police limits was shot at by a group of miscreants. He succumbed two days later and police is yet to arrest the accused.
Bhujabal was arrested by Puri police under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and released on bail around 10 months back. He is survived by a pregnant wife and a six-year-old daughter.
Khurda SP Siddharth Kataria told The New Indian Express efforts are being made to nab the accused in both the cases. “We have launched an operation to seize arms and brown sugar and arrest the people involved in the trade,” he said.