A 32-year-old man was shot at and seriously injured at Majhitola, about 5km from here, late on Tuesday night in yet another instance of violence in Adityapur that has seen a spike in the number of criminal acts since June.

Bittu Pandey, who sustained bullet injuries in the abdomen, is a resident of the area. A driver in a private finance company, Bittu has been admitted to Tata Main Hospital where his condition is said to be serious.

Bittu’s father, Vipin Kumar Pandey, alleged to police and media that a local goon, Santosh Thapa, was behind attack on his son. Thapa, he said, had engaged a shooter for the job.

"Santosh Thapa, who is a notorious criminal, had threatened my son five days ago. I am sure it was Thapa who organised the gun attack on my son," Vipin told the media at Tata Main Hospital on Wednesday.

Bittu was found lying in a pool of blood near Kharkai river in Majhitola at 10pm on Tuesday. Local residents informed his family members who then took him to Tata Main Hospital.

OC of Adityapur police station Rajendra Prasad Mahto said, “We are trying to get a statement from the victim. Then we will have a clearer picture about who is responsible for the attack.”

The OC said prima facie, the shooting seems to be linked to a land dispute.

Body found

This apart, the body of a 28-year-old youth was found lying in a bush behind Tramco Company in Gamharia, also under Adityapur thana, late on Tuesday night. Police suspect the youth, a resident of Dhatkidih village in Seraikela, had been murdered.

The body was been sent to the Seraikela Sadar Hospital for post-mortem on Wednesday.

Residents of Adityapur, an industrial area, admit that the law and order situation has deteriorated over the past couple of months.

On June 18, a teenaged girl was gangraped and forced to jump into the Kharkai river from where her dead body was recovered the next day. On August 6, a 30-year-old man, Ramzan Hussain, was shot at and seriously injured by members of the Kadim Khan gang. Kadim Khan is yet to be caught.