Dhenkanal, Feb 24: In an unfortunate hunting accident, a man allegedly mistook his brother-in-law for a wild boar and shot him dead in a forest near Phasigaon village in Odisha's Dhenkanal district on Saturday night.
The accused, identified as Ramesh Chandra Naik (53), has been arrested by the police. The cops have also seized his gun.
As per reports, the victim, identified as Govind Naik (48), owned a farmhouse about 5 km from the village. Police said that the two men had ventured into the nearby forest to hunt wild boars using a strategy where one would shake the bushes to flush out the animals while the other remained ready to fire.
Govind took on the task of shaking the bushes while Ramesh positioned himself to shoot. However, about 500 meters inside the forest, Ramesh mistook Govind’s movements for that of a wild boar and fired his gun. The bullet hit Govind and he collapsed on the spot.
He was then rushed to the Dhenkanal District Headquarters Hospital (DHH), where the attending the doctors declared him dead on arrival.
Following the incident, there was an alleged attempt to mislead the police by presenting the case as a deliberate killing. However, further investigation revealed the actual sequence of events leading to the accidental shooting.
Further investigation into the matter was underway.
