Nischintakoili: Tension ran high at a bank after an elderly customer was killed in an accidental fire by the security guard, a report said.
The incident took place at Kendupatna branch of State Bank of India under this block and Salipur police limits in Cuttack district Wednesday.
According to sources, Trilochan Samal (62) of Khandagaon village was waiting for his turn to withdraw money from the bank when bullets from security guard Rajendra Kumar Malla’s gun hit him in his thigh and hand.
Bank employees and customers rushed him to Cuttack-based SCB Medical College and Hospital, where he succumbed to injuries, the sources said.
Police rushed to the spot and arrested Malla and seized the gun from him. Later, a forensic team was pressed into service.
The reason for the firing was yet to be ascertained. It is, however, suspected that the gun might have gone off as the safety lock was opened due to negligence of Malla or he might have accidentally pulled the trigger, sources said.
After reports surfaced, hundreds of locals and customers assembled outside the bank and staged a blockade on Cuttack-Chandbali road demanding a compensation of `20 lakh for the bereaved family and service to the next of his kin.
Salipur police station IIC Prasant Kumar Majhi and branch manager Amarjit Kumar Mohapatra rushed to the spot and tried to plead with agitators to withdraw the blockade. The agitators relented after the bank manager gave away `5,000 to the bereaved family. PNN