Dhenkanal: A 53-year-old man allegedly shot his brother-in-law dead after mistaking him for a wild boar in a forest near Phasigaon village in Odisha's Dhenkanal district late Saturday night.

Police have arrested the accused, identified as Ramesh Chandra Naik, and seized his gun.

According to police, the deceased, Govind Naik (48), owned a farmhouse located around 5 km away from the village. He and his brother-in-law Ramesh had ventured into the nearby forest to hunt wild boars. Their strategy involved one of them shaking the bushes to drive the animals out while the other remained ready to fire.

Govind took the role of shaking the bushes while Ramesh positioned himself to shoot. However, as Govind moved through the bushes about 500 meters inside the forest, Ramesh mistook his movements for that of a wild boar and fired. The bullet struck Govind, who collapsed on the spot.

He was later rushed to the Dhenkanal district headquarters hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Following the incident, an attempt was allegedly made to mislead the police by presenting the case as a deliberate killing. However, the investigation uncovered the actual sequence of events.