Odisha: Gun-toting Balangir youth keen to see lover takes 3 of family hostage

BHUBANESWAR/BALANGIR: In a scene straight out of a Bollywood potboiler, a lovelorn youth carrying a country-made pistol took a family of three hostage in Balangir and demanded to see the girl he was in love with, who happens to be the owner's niece and was not present at home when the drama was unfolding. The hostage situation ended after six hours when police finally managed to overpower him after efforts to convince him to drop his weapon failed.
On Tuesday morning aroand 9, Bikram Panda (28), owner of an internet cafe in Balangir, barged into a house at Shantipada locality, brandishing a country-made pistol.He held the three members of the family — man (a 50-year-old government servant), wife (45) and son (14)—at gun point and kept asking them about a girl he said was the owner's niece. Police said the youth was desperate to see the girl whom he claimed to be in love with. He threatened to kill himself as well. Luckily, the family members managed to lock themselves in another room, away from the intruder.
"We got a call from the family members, who were trapped in the house, that an armed gunman had entered their home. A team rushed to the spot and began looking for options to rescue the family members," said Balangir SP Nitin Kusalkar.
He said the youth had confined himself in the hall on the first floor. "Accompanied by the HC of Town police station and my security personnel, I began talking to him. I gave my introduction but he was not keen to engage and seemed edgy. Suddenly, he fired three blanks. Luckily, no one was injured," Kusalkar said. And it was while Panda was loading the fourth bullet that the police broke open the door and managed to overpower him. Following his arrest, Panda was taken to the police station for interrogation.
The police are trying to find out where he bought the pistol from and how long he had been planning this act.
Sources said Panda was in love with a girl who works in a government medical college in the town. The house where he carried out the hostage drama is said to be that of the girl's uncle. "I never saw the youth in this locality. When he barged into the house and held my son at gunpoint, we got terrified. Luckily, we could manage to hide ourselves," said the houseowner.
Kusalkar said since it is a government holiday in view of Raja festival, the girl was with her parents at their village, about 15 km from Balangir town. The girl works as a clerk on a contractual basis in the government medical college and shuttles between her village and workplace every day. Sources said Panda knew the girl frequents her uncle's home and that was the reason he chose to visit the place.