Couple shot dead in front of house in Odisha’s Keonjhar

Keonjhar: A couple was allegedly shot dead in front of the duo’s house at Lasadra village under Balani police limits in Odisha’s Keonjhar district, last evening.

The deceased have been identified as Laxmidhar Apat (47) and his wife Manjulata (40).

According to reports, Laxmidhar ran a shop located in front of his house. Around 4-5 masked miscreants arrived near the shop on two motorcycles at 8.30 PM.

One of them asked Laxmidhar to open the shop and give him some items. As Laxmidhar was opening the shop, the miscreant opened fire at him.

Hearing the gunshot, the victim’s wife and son came out of the house. The attackers also fired at the women and tried to attack Laxmidhar’s son with a knife. However, he managed to escape unhurt.

As locals started rushing to the spot, the miscreants fled the place.

Laxmidhar and Manjulata were taken to the Barbil Hospital, where they were declared dead.

The reason behind the firing was yet to be ascertained. Police have started an investigation into the incident while efforts were on by cops to identify and apprehend the attackers.