The spot where the businessman was shot at in Unit-VI in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar, July 24: The goons, who shot at and robbed businessman Haresh Prasad Rath at Unit-VI on July 20, wanted to use the stolen money to buy arms that would help them commit more such crimes.

This was revealed after Cuttack-Bhubaneswar police today arrested two suspects for shooting at and robbing the businessman of Rs 2.24 lakh in cash.

The police have seized three pistols, two of which are country made, and 11 rounds of live ammunition along with Rs 10,000 in cash. The cops also seized the motorcycle they had used to commit the crime. The third suspect is still at large.

The accused have been identified as Prabhat Paikray alias Tukuna Das alias Aja, 40, and Tirupati Gouda alias Chotu, 28. Prabhat is from Nimapara in Puri district, while Gouda hails from Rambha of Ganjam district. Prabhat, the mastermind, has been living in Unit-VI and Gouda at Khandagiri.

The cops said Prabhat had been keeping a close watch on the businessman and had plotted the crime in the second week of July. “We have been tracking a number of persons for brining illegal arms to the city. We have also detained five persons for illegal arms trading. The call details of the suspects’ cell phones gave us a lead and we found that both Prabhat and Gouda had been involved in the robbery,” said deputy commissioner of police Nitinjeet Singh.

The cops said Prabhat was involved in gun running and Gouda in a number of robbery and dacoity cases. Gouda and the accomplice, who is yet to be caught, had committed the crime. Cops said Gouda had opened fire at the businessman.

The victim, Rath, a resident of Saheed Nagar, had suffered bullet injuries to his right palm and abdomen. Rath’s firm Sachidanand Traders owns the distributorship of cosmetics products of Hindustan Unilever Limited, in Khurda, Cuttack and Nayagarh.

The police had questioned a number of employees of Rath’s firm to find out possible involvement of an insider. However, the cops later found that Prabhat, who has been living in the area for the past three years, was well aware of the fact that Rath used to carry huge amounts of cash with him.