Rourkela: What initially appeared to be a road accident has turned into an attempt to murder case in Subarnapur district, with police arresting four people, including the alleged mastermind.“Prime accused Surendra Nayak (43), and three others — Nilambar Karna (25), Jay Kumar Panda (37) and Ramananda Padhan (42) — all residents of Subarnapur, have been arrested and sent to jail on Wednesday night in connection with the attempt-to-murder case,” said J K Sahoo, inspector in charge of the local Birmaharajpur police station.Police said victim Arjun Ratha (50) and Nayak had been associated with a catering business for nearly a decade. However, relations between the two deteriorated about four years ago.Investigators said the fallout prompted Ratha to stop engaging Nayak in catering assignments. Nursing a grudge, Nayak allegedly threatened to kill Ratha and later hatched a plan with the three co-accused to eliminate him.According to police, Nayak allegedly procured a new SIM card in the name of one of his employees on Aug 27 and used it to execute the plan. On Aug 31, Padhan allegedly called the victim, posing as a client seeking catering services, and asked him to come to Birmaharajpur to collect an advance payment.Believing the offer to be genuine, the victim, accompanied by Sushanta Patra, left for Birmaharajpur on a motorcycle around 6.30 pm. Police alleged that Nayak and Padhan followed the motorcycle on another two-wheeler, while Karna tailed them in a pickup van of the prime accused. When Ratha reached Kumarkeli Chowk, the pickup vehicle allegedly rammed his motorcycle, causing injuries to both the riders. The accused then fled the spot, police said.The injured were admitted to the district headquarters hospital.Ratha initially lodged an FIR treating the incident as a road accident. However, during investigation, police allegedly uncovered evidence pointing to a premeditated conspiracy to kill him. Subsequent interrogation of the accused led investigators to conclude that the crash had been orchestrated.Police said further investigation is underway.