Odisha minister shot at, injured

Odisha's Tourism and Culture Minister Maheshwar Mohanty was tonight injured when two unidentified men opened fire at him near his house here, police said.

Mohanty, 59, was driving a scooty back home from a function when two miscreants, who were apparently following him on a two-wheeler, opened fire at him in a narrow lane near Amala Club in the heart of the town at around 8pm, sources said.

The minister sustained a bullet injury on his left arm and suffered head injuries after he fell from the scooty on being fired at, family sources said.

Mohanty, repersenting Puri assembly constituency, was taken to a hospital here and subsequently shifted to Bhubaneswar.

Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) of Puri Gyanendea Sahu said the condition of the minister is stable but doctors decided to shift him to a Bhubaneswar hospital.

Mohanty, who has been an MLA consecutively since 1995, also holds the Law portfolio.Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed concern over the incident and asked the police to take steps to apprehend the attackers at the earliest.

Director General of Police Prakash Mishra has formed a special team which rushed to the seaside pilgrim town in a bid to trace the attakers, police said.