Bhubaneswar: Two minor siblings in Angul were recently shot at and injured by their neighbour, who had a long-standing grudge against their father, Prafulla Mirdha, police said on Sunday. Police arrested the accused, Prasanta Mirdha, on Sunday.
Prafulla’s daughter, Jagyaseni Mirdha (15), and son, Prakash Mirdha (11), suffered bullet injuries after Prasanta fired on them while they were asleep at their home late Friday night.
Angul SP Rahul Jain said Prasanta was acquainted with the family. Prasanta and Prafulla were involved in a scuffle over some issue five years ago. Prasanta was looking to avenge the old dispute.
On Friday night, Prasanta, in an inebriated state, approached Prafulla’s house. “Prafulla was the main target. He found the door of Prafulla’s house open and spotted some people sleeping in the darkness. He opened fire on them, unknowingly injuring Prafulla’s two children. Prafulla was away from home,” Jain said.
Police sources said Prasanta reportedly confessed to some villagers about his crime. He even reportedly expressed remorse to the villagers for mistakenly shooting the minor children.
Prasanta, on the run, after the crime was traced by police to a nearby village by tracking his phone. Police seized two country-made guns from the accused, a daily labourer. Police said he possessed the illegal firearms to kill animals.