Jamshedpur: Unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants shot dead a Patratu-based coal trader Rajkishore Pandey and one of his private bodyguards in Kadma market under Kadma police station area on Wednesday.
Police suspect it to be a case of either extortion killing or the result of a gangwar.
�Prima facie it seems to be a case of failed extortion bid or a gangwar gone awry. We are trying to reach the root of the incident,� said Amol Venukant Homkar, SSP, East Singhbhum.
The trader and his bodyguard, Bablu Singh alias Sidharth Singh, succumbed to the bullets at the scene. Pandey�s second bodyguard Suman Singh sustained serious bullet injuries. He was taken to Tata Main Hospital.
Sources said the deceased coal trader had come to see his family at Vijaya Gardens, Kadma, yesterday. Around 5.30 pm, Pandey went out with his guards for some shopping in Kadma market. While he was buying mutton near the JMM office, four men arrived at the scene on two motorcycles.
Before anyone could sense the danger, the culprits opened indiscriminate firing on Pandey and his two bodyguards. Pandey and Bablu Singh died at the scene while Suman fell to injuries. Before long, the assailants decamped on the vehicles.
Cops sent the injured bodyguard to TMH and took the bodies in possession. They marked the crime scene and inquired about the incident from local traders.
Several shops in the area were shut down after the daring crime.
Senior police officials led by SSP and SP (city) reached the scene and conducted probe into the killings.
The SSP said the shooters could be outsiders having links with the coal trade or the deceased in some manner. Bablu Singh was a resident of Gajipur (UP).
