Kendrapara, Aug. 15: A contractor suffered serious gunshot injuries when three unidentified motorcycle borne persons fired gunshots at him in Thakurhaat village on the outskirts of Kendrapara town this morning.

The shootout took place around 9.30am today. The injured contractor has been identified as Seikh Abdulah, 38, police said.

It may be recalled here that on Saturday, criminals had opened fire to critically injure a supervisor of a private construction company in Paradip.

Today's incident occurred at Thakuhaat-Aaanlabank road connecting the Paradip-Daitary Expressway. The victim, who was standing on the roadside, was shot at from close range after the criminals brought their motorbikes to a halt to shoot at Seikh Abdullah.

He suffered bullet injuries on the right hand and the thigh. The attackers managed to flee from the spot after a section of people rushed to the spot upon hearing the gunshots, the police said.

The injured contractor was first admitted to the district government hospital at Kendrapara and later he was shifted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack as his health condition deteriorated.

Senior police officials rushed to the spot as the incident of firing triggered tension in the area. "All the entry points to the town were sealed to nab the attackers," said sub-divisional police officer Purna Chandra Pradhan.

Tension mounted in Thakurhaat and its nearby areas following incident.

Police officials said it was the handiwork of criminals who are suspected to be members of a crime syndicate active in Kendrapara and adjoining areas. The motive of the crime is yet to be established. However, it was a premeditated organised crime. It was not executed on the spur of the moment, said police officials.

There are reports of contractors engaging notorious gangsters to prevent their rival contractors from bagging contract tenders of various government civil construction work projects. The attack on Abdullah might have been hatched by his professional opponents, police sources said.

The incident has exposed the steady downslide in law and orderin Kendrapara and neighbouring Paradip.

A supervisor of a private construction company was grievously injured on Saturday afternoon at a proposed plastic park site near Paradip oil refinery after three motorcycle borne persons shot at him from close range. More than a dozen of shootout and bomb-throwing incidents have been reported in Kendrapara-Paradip areas over the past month.