Bolangir: Some miscreants fired four rounds of bullets at a youth near Jitu Dhaba on NH-26 in Bolangir town Wednesday.
Critically injured victim, Dillip Patnaik of Rameshwar Nagar was admitted to Bolangir Medical College and Hospital. However, he was later shifted to Burla as his health condition deteriorated.
According to sources, Dillip had a heated argument with one Bablu Mahananda and his associates near Bijakhaman central nursery. The altercation turned ugly when the latter pulled out a gun and fired four rounds at Dillip. While, two bullets missed the target, the other two hit Dillip. Later, Bablu and his associates fled the spot.
While the exact reason behind the firing is yet to be known, police suspect that the incident might have been fallout of previous enmity.
The incident has triggered panic in the area as the firing took place in full public glare.
Meanwhile, police have started investigation into the matter.
Despite tight security arrangement ahead of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s visit to Bolangir August 31, occurrence of such an incident is a wakeup call for police, locals said.