Cuttack, February 21 Five people have been arrested after a man was shot dead during a drunken brawl in Cuttack district, Odisha, police said on Saturday.
A group of young men had gathered at an abandoned government quarter in Press Colony for a feast, they said.
"When all the young men were intoxicated, a heated argument broke out between two of them, Soumyaranjan Jena (33) and Utkal Keshari Pashayet. Pashayet shot Soumya from close range, provoked by his friends," DCP Khilari Rishikesh Dnyandeo said.
"The bullet hit Soumya between his chest and abdomen. As he was conscious and talking, his friends took the firing lightly and thought that he would be okay after medical care," the officer said.
Jena was later taken to the SCB Medical College and Hospital, where he was declared dead.
Pashayet was arrested on charges of murder, while Priyabrata Tripathy, Himanshu Sekhar Nayak and Rudra Prasad Chand were apprehended for supplying the firearm, concealing it, helping the accused escape, and attempting to destroy evidence, police said.
Another accused, Abhijit Mohanty, who brought the gun, was also arrested, they said.
Three vehicles and the gun used in the crime were seized, police said.