Bhubaneswar, November 5: Three persons have been arrested by Bhubaneswar police in connection with a staged bombing and shooting incident, orchestrated to falsely claim a life-threatening situation in order to obtain an arms license. The police are still searching for the prime suspect, Ghunguru Mishra, the woman behind the plot.
According to Bhubaneswar Police Commissioner S. Devadutta, Ghunguru Mishra, a resident of Bharatpur, fabricated a series of threatening events to bolster her application for a firearm license. Mishra allegedly conspired with a group of accomplices to carry out these staged attacks, which included a bomb blast and a shooting near her residence.
The arrested individuals include Mishra’s driver, Nandu Chandan Nayak, who has a criminal history, and two other accomplices: Santosh Mahakud from Bharatpur and Debasis Mohapatra (from Saheed Nagar, Bhubaneswar. All three are now in police custody in connection with the hoax.
The plot began with a coordinated plan to stage bombings and gunfire incidents. Ghungur Mishra subsequently filed false police reports to create the impression of a genuine threat. In her first complaint, filed on September 11, 2025, she alleged that two bombs were placed outside her house around 11 p.m. on September 10. A second complaint, filed on October 4, 2025, described an incident in which unknown individuals fired shots at her boundary wall from two moving vehicles.
These staged events were deliberately captured on CCTV cameras set up at Mishra's house, further complicating the investigation and misleading authorities.
Further investigation revealed that Debasis Mohapatra, also known as Deba, had procured the firearms for the staged attacks. Mishra provided five rounds of ammunition, while Santosh Mahakud and Nandu Chandan Nayak sourced the explosives for the fake bombing. The police have seized a semi-automatic 7.65 mm pistol, a live round of 7.65 mm ammunition, a motorcycle, and an auto-rickshaw during their investigation.
Based on the fabricated reports, two cases have been filed at Bharatpur Police Station. Case No. 624, dated October 5, 2025, involves charges under sections 109(1)/3(5) BNS, along with sections 25(1-B)(a) and 27(1) of the Arms Act. The second case, Bharatpur PS Case No. 542, dated September 11, 2025, is registered under the Explosives Substances (ES) Act.
The police are continuing their investigation and are actively working to track down Ghunguru Mishra, the mastermind behind the entire scheme.
