JAGATSINGHPUR: A 25-year-old miscreant lost his palm after a bomb that he and his two accomplices were reportedly hurling to terrorise locals, exploded at Karkai Chowk on the Balikuda-Borikina road on Sunday night.
On being injured, Divyajyoti Satpathy fell from the bike in which he was riding pillion with two others, while the latter fled. Hearing Satpathy’s screams, locals rushed to his rescue and informed police. He was shifted in a critical condition to the Jagatsinghpur district headquarters hospital and later referred to SCB medical college and hospital in Cuttack after his condition deteriorated.
Sources said another bomb fell on the road but did not explode. On being informed, bomb disposal squad from Bhubaneswar reached the spot and successfully defused the unexploded bomb. Meanwhile, police have launched an investigation to ascertain the exact motive of the trio behind hurling the bombs.
The cops suspect the three are members of a larger gang involved in terrorising local residents to extort money. Balikuda IIC Susant Kumar Sahoo said a case has been registered in this connection. “The two absconding miscreants have been identified and efforts are on to apprehend them,” he added.
Meanwhile, the growing incidents of crime in their areas has triggered panic among residents of Balikuda and Erasama.