PARADIP: Police on Wednesday arrested three persons for their alleged involvement in the crude bomb attack on the residence of the Paradip municipality chairman last week.
The accused are Trilochan Pradhan (23) of Brundaban Colony, Soumyaranjan Palai (24) and Siddhant Biswal (28), all from Paradip. Police said the attack on the house of chairman Basant Biswal was masterminded by history sheeter Jyotikanta Parida (38), who is on the run. He reportedly targeted Biswal over rivalry related to municipal work allocation and political issues.
The incident occurred on the evening of May 30 when Biswal was away from his residence at Madhuban. According to Biswal’s complaint, three unidentified persons arrived on a motorcycle and hurled three bottle bombs at his house. Two of the bombs exploded, causing smoke to spread in the area.
Acting on the complaint, multiple teams led by additional SP Ajinkya Mane were formed to trace the accused. Basing on intelligence inputs, police apprehended Soumyaranjan and Siddhant from Paradip. During interrogation, Trilochan allegedly disclosed that Parida had directed the duo to throw bombs at the chairman’s residence.
Police said the evidence collected during probe, including statements of the accused and other corroborative materials, pointed to longstanding rivalry between Biswal and Parida over municipal work allocation and political matters.
Police said the evidence collected so far indicates Parida’s role as the principal conspirator. Jagatsinghpur SP Ankit Verma said, “A manhunt is underway to arrest the principal conspirator, Parida, who remains absconding.”