Odisha: Tribal woman sprayed with bullets while sleeping, critically injured

Bhubaneswar: A poor tribal woman in Odisha’s Balasore district sustained critical injuries after two unidentified miscreants opened fire while she was resting in her house on Tuesday evening, the police said on Wednesday.

The injured, Laxmi Murmu, a resident of Raipal village in Balasore district, sustained bullet injuries in her waist, stomach and hand.

As per reports, Murmu was taking rest when the miscreants entered her house and sprayed bullets on her.

Hearing the firing sounds and screams of the woman, her husband Rasika Murmu rushed to the spot. Before he could get hold of them, they shoved him and fled the spot.

“I was busy doing some other work in the backyard of our house. After hearing the screams of my wife, I rushed to her room and saw that two persons fired gunshots at her. They shoved me off and left the place,” said Rasika.

Following the incident, Murmu was first rushed to Balasore District Headquarters Hospital. As her condition deteriorated, she was shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack.

The exact reason behind the firing was unclear till this report was filed.

The daughter of the injured woman, who stays in Balasore town and returned home after hearing the news of firing, said, “My mobile was on silent mode and I got a call from my brother regarding the incident. We do not have any idea why the firing took place. Someone might have held some grudge for which the incident happened. But we do not have any idea."

Saroj Upadhaya, local Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) said two miscreants fired upon the woman last night.

“We are investigating the matter and the probe is still in its preliminary stage. All aspects will be taken into consideration,” said the SDPO.