Khurda: A 35-year-old man was shot dead by some miscreants at Dadhimachha Gadia under Khurda Sadar police limits here Sunday, police said.
The deceased has been identified as Lala Pradhan of the locality. A live bullet and four cartridges were seized from the spot, they added.
A police team led by Additional Superintendent of Police Mayadhar Sethi, Khurda Sadar Sub-divisional Police Officer Sushil Kumar Mishra, Sadar Inspector in-charge Anita Sahu and Town police Inspector in-charge Umashankar Singh reached the spot and began a probe into the incident.
“The body has been sent to the district headquarters hospital for postmortem. A case has been registered as per the complaint filed by the victim’s family. Preliminary investigation has suggested that the incident occurred due to previous enmity. A scientific team has been pressed into service to get clues on the persons involved in the incident,” said a police officer.
According to villagers, Pradhan and some other villagers went to a pond near the playground at Dadhimachha Gadia for ablutions in the morning. Suddenly, an argument ensued among them over some issues.
Soon, two persons opened fire on Pradhan from close range and fled the spot. Pradhan died immediately, villagers said.
“Pradhan’s body bore six bullet injuries. The miscreants might have shot Pradhan from close range,” said the SDPO.
Sources, meanwhile, claimed that Pradhan had some disputes with a few villagers. Pradhan’s rival groups had hatched a plot to eliminate him. “Pradhan’s rival group called him to the playground on the pretext of resolving the disputes through discussions. Two persons from that group opened fire on him after brief argument,” said a source.
The incident has created panic among the villagers on the first day of annual Raja festival. The administration has deployed a platoon of armed police personnel at Dadhimachha Gadia to avoid any untoward incident.
