The spot, where PK Harshvardhan was shot at. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, June 24: Barely two days after a 15-year-old school student was rescued from kidnappers, some people fired at a college student behind the Keshari Talkies in Unit-III of the capital yesterday.

The area where the firing took place at night is close to the Assembly and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) — both of which are considered high security zones.

The victim, P.K. Harshvardhan, 22, a student of Maharshi College of Natural Law, was injured on his left shoulder and hands. Before firing at him, the goons had attacked him with sharp weapons. Harshvardhan, who stays at Sriram Vihar in Nayapalli, was sitting on his motorcycle near the cinema when five persons, who came on two motorcycles, attacked him.

“The youth was eating eggs sitting on his motorcycle when goons attacked him first with sharp weapons and then fired at him. When the bullet hit his shoulder, he fell down and the attackers fled from the spot,” said an eyewitness.

When Harshvardhan fell on the ground, his attackers took off with his motorcycle. Following the firing, the shops in the area closed down and the terrified traders rushed for cover.

Kharavela Nagar police rushed to the spot and shifted Harshvardhan to a private hospital near Acharya Vihar. Harshvardhan’s condition is learnt to be stable. The doctors have removed the bullet from his shoulder.

Harshvardhan said that he did not know the attackers and he could not remember of any possible enmity that could be a cause of this. Neither his friends, nor his family members could ascertain a reason behind the attack.

“He had no enmity with anyone and we do not know why anyone would attack him,” said Ashok Mohanty, Harshvardhan’s uncle.

Inspector in charge of Kharavela Nagar police station Satyajit Mishra said they had recorded the statement of the victim. “As the injured could not say anything about the attackers or give details of his previous enmity, it is getting a bit difficult for us to investigate. Still, we are conducting raids at various places acting on tip-offs. We hope to arrest the accused soon,” said Mishra.

Police sources said despite the victim not telling them anything, they suspected the Saturday night firing was the fallout of his previous enmity.

In a separate incident, some persons robbed a motorcycle and a mobile phone from one Pravin Kumar Pradhan, 22, at gunpoint last night near the Khandual temple at Saheed Nagar.

In his complaint, Pradhan said while he was on his way to Bomikhal, three youths on one motorcycle overtook him and then stopped to ask him an address. When he tried to show them the direction, two of the riders pulled out a dagger and a gun and asked him to hand over his motorcycle and his mobile phone. Saheed Nagar police have registered a case and are looking for the accused.