Cuttack, Feb. 1: Unidentified goons fled with a car after firing at its driver near Town hall in Purighat police limits early this morning.

The driver, Ranjit Mohapatra, 34, suffered a bullet injury on his right leg and is now undergoing treatment at SCB Medical College and Hospital.

Sources said two motorcycle-borne goons stole the four-wheeler after telling the driver they needed to check the driver's licence and other documents around 6am today.

Police suspect the involvement of an inter-district criminal gang behind this incident as earlier this month goons had stolen a car in a similar fashion at Athgarh after attacking the driver.

Deputy commissioner of police Sanjeev Arora told The Telegraph that the goons had left behind a Pulsar bike on the spot. It appears that a stolen bike was used to commit the crime. "We have registered a case and special teams have been formed to conduct a detailed probe into the incident," said Arora.

Sources said the goons fled towards Bhubaneswar after stealing the car, as it took nearly 30 minutes for the PCR van from PurigCops hat police station to arrive on the spot.

"I was standing in front of the under construction multiplex when two persons in a motorcycle came and threatened to take me to police station for causing an accident on the national highway. They asked me for my driving licence and subsequently dragged me outside, shot at me and stole the car," said the injured Mohapatra.

Mohapatra added that the incident occurred while he was waiting for a doctor who had pre-booked the car to travel to Baripada from Cuttack.

Sources said Mohapatra, who hails from Jagatsinghpur, was working as a driver with Raja Travels Agency, which is managed by one of his relatives, at Khapuria for the past year.

The goons also looted Rs 12,000 in cash, an ATM card and other original documents including the driving licence that were kept inside the dashboard of the vehicle.

"After getting information, we reached the spot, but despite our attempts we could not contact an ambulance. Later, with the help of Purighat police we took Ranjit to the SCB," said Jatindra Das, a relative.

In another incident, Bidanasi police checked a loot bid by arresting four members, including a close associate of the Dhal Samant gang, yesterday.

A pistol, three rounds of live ammunition and sharp weapons were seized from the dacoit gang.