ROURKELA: A 60-year-old businessman and relative of former Speaker of Odisha Assembly Kishore Chandra Patel suffered grievous injuries after allegedly being shot by two unidentified miscreants at Karamdihi under Sadar police limits in Sundargarh district on Saturday night.
The victim Arun Naik is the proprietor of Bharat LPG agency and brother-in-law of veteran Congress leader and ex- Speaker Patel. Sources said Naik was opening his LPG storeroom at Karamdihi near Sundargarh town when the miscreants arrived at the scene.
They first hit his head with a stone and opened one round of fire at him. Hearing Naik’s scream for help, local residents rushed to his rescue while the miscreants fled. Sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) of Sundargarh Nirmal Mohapatra said the incident took place at around 8 pm on Saturday. Naik suffered a bullet injury to his stomach.
He was taken to Sundargarh district headquarters hospital and later shifted to a private hospital in Rourkela. His condition is stable. The SDPO said, on being informed, police along with the dog squad and scientific team visited the crime scene to gather clues.
A case has been registered in Sadar police station. The motive behind the attack is not immediately clear. Investigation is underway from all angles including loot attempt and previous enmity. The culprits involved in the attack will be arrested soon, he said. Sources said after retiring from the Border Security Force (BSF), Naik has been operating the LPG agency at Karamdihi where he is staying