Phulbani/Chakapad: A hunting trip turned tragic after a minor was accidentally shot dead by one of his associates in Kandhamal district, police said. The deceased was identified as Bibhuti Kanhar, 16, of Budeni village.
The incident occurred in the Tikabali police limits, where three friends had gone into the nearby Kamuti forest for poaching.
Police said that two youths from the village arrived at Bibhuti’s house around 9 pm April 18, carrying two country-made guns and asked him to join them for hunting.
Despite objections from his father, Madhab Kanhar, the boy went with them. About half an hour later, a gunshot was heard.
One of the youths later informed the victim’s family that Bibhuti had been accidentally shot. Family members and villagers rushed to the spot and found him lying in a pool of blood.
Police reached the scene after being alerted, seized the body and sent it to the DHH in Phulbani for post-mortem.
The firearms used in the incident were also seized.
Two associates of the deceased are absconding, while one person has been detained for questioning.
The source of the firearms and how the minors obtained them remain under investigation.
