Bhubaneswar: A late-night liquor party among friends to celebrate the purchase of an illegal firearm ended in tragedy when a 25-year-old man was allegedly shot dead in celebratory firing in Sisupalagada area here early Thursday. Police arrested eight men in connection with the incident.The deceased was identified as Tapu Nayak (25). Those arrested have been identified as Umesh Kumar Pattanayak (30), Bishnuprasad Samanataraya (23), Ratnakar Sahoo (23), Alok Jena (30), Manas Swain (39), Akshaya Pradhan (36), Kalinga Keshari Patra (23) and Chitrasen Gajendra (32). Police said all of them worked for a private construction company.According to police commissioner S Dev Datta Singh, the group had gathered at a place under Dhauli police station limits to celebrate the procurement of a firearm by one of the accused. Several of them were allegedly drinking alcohol when the weapon was brought out and fired.“During the celebration, Samanataraya fired the weapon, and the bullet struck Nayak. Samanataraya and Pattanayak rushed the injured to Capital Hospital,” Singh said.As Nayak’s condition deteriorated, he was shifted to a private hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.While preliminary investigation suggests there was no prior enmity or apparent motive to target the victim, police said the exact circumstances leading to the firing are being examined. Police are also probing how the accused procured the illegal weapon and his motive.Police said the accused initially attempted to mislead the police by claiming that two unidentified men had shot Nayak on the Sishu Bhawan flyover. “The claim was found to be false during verification of CCTV footage and examination of other evidence. The incident actually took place in Sisupalagada area,” Singh said.Despite indications that the firing may have been accidental, police have booked all the accused on a murder charge.The victim’s family, however, questioned the accidental-firing theory. “We are not convinced that this was merely an accident. There are several unanswered questions. We suspect foul play. Police should not jump the gun. We want the police to conduct an impartial and thorough investigation and uncover the real motive behind my husband’s death,” said Manasi Nayak, wife of the deceased.