8 held after youth shot dead at party

Bhubaneswar: The Commissionerate Police on Thursday arrested eight persons in connection with the murder of a 25-year-old youth in Dhauli police station area of the city in the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. The deceased was identified as Tapu Naik, a resident of Baideswar in Kataka district, and was residing at Sitaram Basti under Bharatpur police station area. Police identified the accused persons as Umesh Kumar Pattanayak, Bishnuprasad Samanataraya alias Pikun, Ratnakar Sahoo, Alok Jena, Manas Swain, Akshaya Pradhan, Kalinga Keshari Patra and Chitrasen Gajendra.

According to the police, the incident took place at Sisupalagada village under Dhauli police limits. “On Wednesday, a group of around seven persons were partying in an open area. Around 11.30 pm, one among the group took a pistol and fired at Tapu Naik,” said the Commissionerate Police in a statement.

One of the accused, Umesh, had reportedly procured a pistol from a person in Puri. He and his friends, including the deceased, were partying to celebrate the arrival of the weapon. Meanwhile, the friends, under the influence of alcohol, reportedly engaged in an argument and, on sudden provocation, the accused Pikun fired at Tapu, inflicting grievous injuries.

After firing, two accused, Umesh and Pikun, immediately rushed the injured Tapu to Capital Hospital on a scooter. Later, he was shifted to a private hospital and the doctors declared him dead.

Speaking to mediapersons, Police Commissioner S Dev Datta Singh said the incident came to the notice of police at around 1 am. He said the police immediately reached the Capital Hospital and later went to the private hospital. Singh said that during interrogation, Umesh and Pikun, who had taken the deceased to the hospital, concocted a false story, claiming that they were chatting near Mausi Maa Bridge when two unidentified persons arrived on a motorcycle. One of them was wearing a helmet while the other had his face covered with a mask.

They allegedly opened fire at Tapu Nayak before fleeing the spot. However, an analysis of CCTV footage and other evidence revealed that the entire account was fabricated, Singh added. During further interrogation, the accused confessed to their involvement in the crime and told the police that they had disposed of the pistol in a waterbody. The weapon has since been recovered by the police.

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The Hans India