Bhubaneswar, June 27: One person was arrested today by the Khandagiri police in connection with the bombing incident last evening at the Siripur market. However, the prime accused is still absconding.

A shopkeeper had sustained injuries in the incident. The goons had hurled two bombs at the busy market place to terrorise the people after they had failed to extort money from a contractor.

Police said the arrested man was an accomplice of the main accused, Makara Moharana, who had hurled the bomb. The two criminals came on a motorcycle around 6pm yesterday and fled after lobbing bombs.

The first bomb was hurled at a shoe shop owned by one Md. Javed Ali who was injured. As the local people had started chasing the goons, they threw another bomb to scare away those pursuing them. They managed to escape.

Later, the Khandagiri police reached the spot and seized the bomb splinters. The police rushed the injured to the hospital. Deputy commissioner of police Nitinjit Singh visited the spot. Police said the bombs were actually powerful crackers which the accused had used to terrorise the people.

Makara came last morning to demand money from a contractor who was constructing a road at the market. The contractor, Ambuja Das, said the accused had tried to extort money from him in the morning. “When I refused, he threatened me with dire consequence,” said Das.

The shopkeepers said the goons frequently demanded money from them. “Since they are criminals, we did not want to mess with them. I used to pay them as denying them would mean trouble,” said most of the shopkeepers.

The Khandagiri police said Makara was a habitual offender. He had been arrested on several occasions. In April, he was arrested for lobbing bombs near Barmunda overbridge twice within the span of a week. Police said he had recently been released on bail and resumed his criminal activities again.