The Sadar police on Thursday arrested five youths for their alleged involvement in a firing case on December 20 near Chedara bridge on Gandakhia-Alava bridge. The police seized a 9 MM pistol, three mobile phones and two motorbikes used for the crime, informed IIC Nilakantha Prasad Patra.
The arrested were identified as Dipak Behera, Bhaskar Sahu, Rajendra Nayak of Basulai village , Subashis Sutar of Madhial and Bighnesh Moharana of Perjipur. All the arrested are between the age group of 18 and 24 years.
According to Pratra, the accused are associates of hardcore criminal Babu Sahu. They shot dead one Sudhanshu Swain of Khadianga on the direction of history sheeter Babu Sahu. Babu had a rivalry with one Kabula Singh whose brother was an acquaintance of Sudhanshu. Babu suspected that Sudhansu was a conduit who was transforming information about him to Kabula, now in jail. So, he sought to eliminate him and hatched a plan with his associates to gun down Sudhanshu. According to police sources, the accused had criminal background.