Odisha villagers panic as bullets pierce their walls

Reported by Santosh Jagdev
Bhubaneswar, Feb 3:

Residents of Daruthenga village on the outskirts of the Odisha capital had the scare of their lives when they heard – and saw – at least 10 bullets pierce the walls of their houses on Tuesday morning.

Sukanti Behera, a housewife, had a providential escape as a bullet barely missed her and got lodged on the wall of her house.

“I was offering prayers when I heard a loud sound. Soon thereafter, I found a bullet shell. It was hot,” she said.

Any thoughts that the villagers might have had about their worst fears of a terrorist attack coming alive were, however, soon laid to rest when it emerged that the bullets were fired from the camp of Special Operation Group (SOG) of Odisha State Armed Police (OSAP), which is located around 1.5 kilometers away from the village.

The bullets were had apparently bounced off their targets.

At around 10.30 am, the villagers heard the sound of bullets. When they came out of their houses, they were shocked to see the walls of some houses, including the UP school in the village, with two-inch deep holes on them.

They also found bullet shells.

When contacted, Twin City Commissioner of Police Dr R P Sharma said that he can comment on the matter after verifying the truth.