The Commissionerate Police detained three persons in connection with a firing incident that occurred at Barang in Cuttack district on Sunday night in which a businessman was killed and an elderly man was severely injured.
According to reports, six unidentified miscreants came by two bikes and opened fire indiscriminately at businessman Prasanna Naik of Belagochhia village while he was returning home from a nearby market with a relative Debendra Mohanty (50) at around 8.30 pm on Sunday.
Naik and Mohanty were rushed to the SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack where Naik was declared brought dead. Mohanty, who received three bullets in his stomach and chest, is undergoing treatment.
According to his family members, Naik was supplying brick-making mud to kilns near the village. He had purchased a JCB machine after getting mud supply orders from the brick kilns. The opponents of Naik, who also supply mud to the kilns, had threatened him not to supply mud to their clients, but Naik didn’t pay heed to their threats and continued with his business.
Naik’s father mentioned three names, Abhi Behera, Ajay Behera and Tikina lenka, in the FIR and the police are interrogating them regarding their connection in the firing case. Three other assailants could not be identified by injured Mohanty, said Naik’s father.
The Barang police and Cuttack Sadar police began probing the case. A scientific team also started investigating into the incident. To maintain peace in the village, three platoon police forces were deployed. Cuttack DCP Praveen Kumar said that they would arrest the culprits very soon.