Bhubaneswar, Aug. 21: Residents living near Nayapalli flyover today reported gunshot sounds as police continued their search for criminals involved in last night's shootout that took place at Sijua on the outskirts of the state capital.

The cops recovered an empty cartridge and an abandoned motorcycle from the spot. According to a senior police officer, it appeared there were two rounds of firing.

Late in the night, deputy commissioner of police, Bhubaneswar, Satyabrata Bhoi said two accused had been arrested. The incidents have made residents here panicky and hark back to the time gold chain snatchers' gang had unleashed a reign of terror in the city. Yesterday, a man sustained a bullet wound after being shot, while trying to resist the criminals who attempted to snatch his wife's gold chain.

The robbers had fired at the victim, identified as Biswa Ranjan Swain, in a bid to escape after snatching the gold chain. Swain suffered a bullet injury in his left leg and is undergoing treatment at AllMS here.

"I heard my wife shout for help and I started chasing the robber. All of a sudden, he opened fire at me and I fell to the ground. The police should arrest the robbers as early as possible," he said.

"Bhimsen Nayak and Ashok Behera had looted the chain. The police have seized the pistol and a motorcycle used in the crime," Bhoi said. In March last year, a series of snatching incidents were reported in the state capital in which the victims were attacked with sharp weapons. Those incidents were reported from the Puri bypass, Mancheswar and Ghatikia - areas that become deserted late in the night.

The cops later managed to arrest a few members of the gangs. One of the gang members, identified as Rabi Rao, was injured in a police encounter in April last year.

"While in most of these snatching cases the robbers physically assault the victims, few gangs involved in similar crimes attack their targets either with sharp weapons or firearms in attempt to demoralise them and ensure that they didn't remember their faces. The victims tend to be scared and are, hence, not able to describe the robbers and the vehicles used to commit the crime," said a police officer privy to the case.