Goon shot dead in Puri, second murder in three days

BHUBANESWAR: Yet another murder rocked Puri within a span of three days with unidentified goons gunning down a man in Sreekhetra Colony on Saturday evening.
The deceased Surya mohanty (30) was a histroy sheeter, police officials said. The killing left the Puri police in a spot of bother as it came in the backdrop of the August 22 murder of Jagannath temple servitor and BJD councillor Talachhu Bhagaban Mohapatra, who was shot dead from close range.
A gang of four men allegedly fired once at Mohanty and later attacked him with a sharp-edged weapon, killing him on the spot.
Sources said one bullet hit Mohanty's abdomen. The killing took place near Mangala Temple while he was standing near a beetle shop.
"Mohanty had criminal antecedents. Three to four men (his rivals) killed him over previous enmity.
The killers have been identified. They have perhaps absconded in a train from Puri. Our teams are looking for them," Puri SP Anup Kumar Sahoo told TOI.
Sources said Mohanty was arrested by Sea Beach police on charges of extortion andn hooliganism four months ago. "We had seized firearm from him.
We suspected that those people, whom he had threatened four month ago, might have taken the revenge," Sahoo said. The circumstances leading to the killing terrorized the locals.
"We were taken aback when the gang (three to four people) suddenly appeared from nowhere and launched the attck on him. The thugs chased him, brandishing weapons and revolver," said an eyewitness requesting anonymity.
Meanwhile police are still grappling to crack Mohapatra murder case, which could have stemmed from land disputes. "We have made progress in the investigation. The culpprits (prima facie two) would be arrested soon," the district police chief said.