Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Saroj Kanta Mohanty, who conducted a two-hour long operation on Mishra, told newsmen that he was stabbed on his abdomen, neck and hands. There were nine deep injuries on his body including two on the abdomen and four on the head. Mishra's intestine has ruptured at two points, the doctor said.

Police said assailants, suspected to be the retrenched Skyview squad members, entered from the backside of the office and broke into the chamber of Mishra after overpowering the security personnel. Mishra was completely caught unaware as the youths attacked him from behind with sharp weapons.

According to the security guard, Pabitra Nayak, thethree youths were often seen in the Skyview office. Nayak had a tussle with one of the three youths in a bid to prevent them from entering the premises. Since the incident took place at was lunch break, there was hardly any staff to come to the rescue of Mishra. Mishra was taken to the hospital with the help of his driver Pandab Bhuyan.

According to Bhuyan, Mishra, though critically injured, came down from his first-floor office to the official van on his own and was trying to drive it to the hospital himself. However, later Mishra told Bhuyan to immediately rush to the hospital. He even told his driver not to panic, saying things would be all right once he came under medical supervision, Bhuyan added.

Sources said the Skyview office wastension for the last few days following the retrenchment of some of the squad members. A written complaint was also filed at Sahidnagar police station in this regard by one of the Skyview employees.

On Thursday morning, four unknown youths had gone to the Skyview officeand threatened the staff with dire consequences if they did not close the office.

Preliminary investigation by the police revealed that the crime was may have been committed by the gang members of a retrenched Skyview employee. He was earlier arrested on January 28 from Sahidnagar area in connection with a previous crime and remanded to jail.

Although police is yet to ascertain the number of persons involved in the crime, it is suspected that three members of the retrenched employee's gang were involved. They have reportedly been identified.

In a swift move, city police arrested another member of the gang from the city railway station within two hours of the incident. Police have launched a manhunt to trace the culprits.

Police have also seized a blood-stained sword which the assailants are suspected to have left behind in a bush on the back side of the Skyview office.