Barang: A 48-year-old man, Santosh Kumar Panda, was severely injured after being abducted, assaulted, and shot by unidentified men near the Gandarpur riverbed under Nandankanan Police Station limits. The incident occurred Monday evening, leaving the victim hospitalised in critical condition. Santosh, a resident of Barimunda village, was reportedly standing near Jaripatna Square when four men in an unregistered car forcibly abducted him. They took him to the riverbed, stripped, and brutally beat him before shooting him four times in the leg. Hearing the commotion, locals rushed to the scene but were threatened by the armed assailants, who then fled.
Police suspect the attack stemmed from a Rs 5 crore property dispute. Santosh had recently filed a court case alleging fraudulent acquisition of his relatives’ land in Kalyanpur. Sources say the attackers had warned him to drop the case and even offered him money to stay silent, but he refused. Nandankanan Police have launched an investigation, with initial findings pointing to a planned assault related to the property conflict. Authorities are confident the suspects will be identified soon.
