Six bike-borne assailants allegedly gunned down a silk trader in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district late on Wednesday night.
The incident took place barely 400metres away from the local police station.
The deceased was identified as Mohammad Afzal Ansari (35), a resident of Momin Tola.
The incident took place around 10:30pm when Afzal was returning home after closing his shop.
As soon as he reached near his house, armed assailants reportedly started firing at him indiscriminately.
Family members rushed him to Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital where he succumbed due to his injuries sustained due to multiple gunshot wounds and excessive bleeding.
Bhagalpur SSP Babu Ram told HT that the bike-borne men fired at the trader near his house.
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Police recovered over a dozen empty cartridges from the spot.
The SSP revealed that Afzal received five bullet injuries.
The deceased’s maternal uncle lamented the state of lawlessness in Bhagalpur town alleging that crime cases occur frequently there. The criminals used to demand extortion money from traders and industrialists in the city, he claimed.
“At present, the actual cause behind the murder is not known. Police are working on different theories to crack the case. We are trying to identify the accused persons. We are conducting raids at several places to nab them,” SSP added.
On Thursday, the entire market wore a deserted look as the shops and other commercial establishments remained closed.
They staged a protest march with the deceased’s body raising slogans against the state government and police over the deteriorating law and order.
Traders also demanded the immediate arrest of suspects and said the markets in the area will remain shut till the arrests are made.
