MALKANGIRI: Executive officer of Balimela NAC Krushna Chandra Rath and his family members narrowly escaped an attempt on life after miscreants hurled petrol bombs at his government quarters on Wednesday night, hours after the administration carried out an eviction drive near OCC Colony.
Some miscreants reportedly entered the premises of Rath's quarters in Balimela Officer's Colony at around 2:30 am and hurled petrol bombs at the house. Subsequently, a portion of the building caught fire. Rath's daughter first spotted the smoke and alerted him. "When I came outside, I saw a part of the house was engulfed in flames. It was a well-planned bomb attack by miscreants to kill me and my family," alleged the executive officer.
Incidentally, Rath was part of the enforcement team which conducted an eviction drive to remove encroachments on government land near OCC Colony in Balmela town earlier on the day to create space for construction of a hospital.
Contacted, Orkel IIC John Kujur said prima facie, it appears that the bomb attack was the handiwork of some local miscreants and linked to the eviction drive that took place in the town in the morning. A scientific team from Koraput has collected samples from the spot. Police are investigating the incident with help of sniffer dog. The miscreants behind the attack will be nabbed soon, Kujur added.
Following the incident, panic gripped residents of Balimela town as this was the first-ever petrol bomb attack reported in the locality. The staff of Balimela NAC and locals have requested the Malkangiri SP to provide security to the executive officer.