No breakthrough yet on firing on Odisha cinestar, friend

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Sambalpur/Cuttack, May 16:

Two days after an unidentified man opened fire on senior Ollywood actor and lawyer Shantiswarup Mishra and his friend inside his house near Budharaja Gate in Sambalpur city critically injuring them, Odisha police are yet find any leads on the assailant, forget arresting them.

Sambalpur police conducted night-long raid in several areas of Sambalpur city, but are yet to trace the whereabouts of the accused.

The police are rummaging through CCTV footage of a coaching centre near the area where the incident had taken place on Thursday evening. The pictures in the CCTV footage are not clear, police said.

Investigation has revealed that the assailant had fired from a state-of-the-art 7.65 mm mouser.

Family members suspect land dispute as the reason for the attack.

Meanwhile, doctors at the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack on Friday brought out the bullets from the neck and chest of Mishra. His condition is now stable, family sources said.

Mishra, who was initially admitted to the VSS Medical College and Hospital at Burla on Thursday night, was shifted to the SCB Hospital after his condition became critical.

Meanwhile, Mishra’s friend Nitya Ranjan Patnaik, who also had sustained bullet injuries, was discharged from the VSS Medical College and Hospital on Friday.

The condition of Patnaik is now stable, police said.