The injured persons, who sustained multiple bullet wounds, have been shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack in critical condition.
The assailants fled from the spot immediately after committing the crime last night, they said.
The incident has triggered tension on the highway-side villages prompting police to step up security.
Rivalry over sand-quarrying leasing might be the reason behind the incident, police said adding that the assault might have been perpetrated by Kendrapara-based gangsters.