Four accused arrested for attack on Minister

BHUBANESWAR: The Puri police arrested four accused involved in the attack on Law, Culture and Tourism Minister Maheswar Mohanty, said Director General of Police Prakash Mishra to the Presspersons here on Friday.

Mishra said the accused had gone to Andhra Pradesh to get respite from police’s eye after committing the crime. Later they had changed their location and went to Karnataka fearing police raid. Finally they were nabbed with the help of inter-State police cooperation while the accused were returning from Karnataka, he added.

The DGP said the accused belonged to a particular gang. They will be brought to the State immediately in order to interrogate them about the motive of the crime, he added.

“We could not get more clues from the Minister as he was in a scooter and was not aware about the incident happened quickly. But we hope the case may be solved with the arrest of the accused,” said Mishra.

Notably, a few armed miscreants had opened fire on the Minister near his residence in Puri on February 21. He is undergoing treatment in the Kalinga Hospital in the capital city and is recovering under the active observation of a team of doctors.