A high-stakes police pursuit in Odisha’s Kendujhar district culminated in a dramatic shootout near Asiya village, leaving a wanted interstate criminal injured.
The accused, identified as Arjun Pradhan—a native of Dasamania village under the Jakhapura police station limits in Jajpur district—sustained a bullet injury to his right leg after initiating an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement.
According to police sources, the confrontation erupted when a special police team cornered Pradhan during a routine operation tracking his movements. Rather than surrendering, the accused pulled the trigger on the pursuing officers, forcing police to engage in retaliatory firing in self-defence. A single round struck Pradhan in his right leg, immobilising him.
Authorities revealed that Pradhan is a dreaded felon with a sprawling criminal network spanning multiple jurisdictions. He is allegedly implicated in over 20 heinous criminal cases registered across various police stations in Odisha, Bihar, and Jharkhand. For months, law enforcement agencies from the three states had been actively hunting him down for a string of violent offences.
Investigators have identified him as the prime mastermind behind the audacious September 27 robbery targeting a gold trader in Bantal village under the Soso police station limits. During that brazen daylight heist, the victimised trader was shot at and critically wounded before the perpetrators fled with valuables.
Immediately following Friday’s encounter, the wounded criminal was rushed to Anandapur Hospital for emergency stabilisation. However, due to the critical nature of his condition, medical personnel later referred him to a higher-facility hospital in Kataka under heavy police guard.
Local police are conducting sweeping follow-up operations in the region to unearth further links to his criminal syndicate.
