Chakradharpur, May 9: Unidentified goons gunned down Balram Singh, a Jamshedpur-based railway contractor, outside the Chakradharpur railway station in broad daylight on Monday.
Singh initially hailed from Begusarai in Bihar and was currently residing in Baghbera in Jamshedpur. The victim was the proprietor of Maa Kali Construction Company, which undertook contract jobs from the railways � mostly in the Charkradharpur division of South-Eastern Railway.
On Monday, Singh had come to Chakradharpur in connection with some work. After finishing his work, the contractor was on his way towards the railway station. Suddenly four motorbike-borne criminals crossed his path and began firing at Singh. He was shot thrice � one in the chest and two in the abdomen.
Soon, the criminals fled the area. A critically injured Singh was rushed to the Chakradharpur Railway Hospital, where he breathed his last during treatment.
His body was later sent to Chaibasa Sadar Hospital for postmortem.
As the news spread, police arrived at the shooting spot and passed on the information to their seniors. Kolhan DIG Shambhu Thakur and West Singhbhum superintendent of police Dr. Michael Raj also reached the railway town to take stock of the situation.
Meanwhile, the police have sealed the entire area and launched a massive man hunt to nab the criminals. At the time of writing this news, there was no report of any arrest, but the police were raiding various possible hide-outs of the criminals.
According to the police, business rivalry related to procuring railway contracts may be responsible for Singh�s murder. A probe into the case is on.
Sources told The Avenue Mail that the crime was a well-planned conspiracy. The criminals reportedly followed Singh all the way from Jamshedpur and were keeping track of his movements in Chakradharpur.
It is worth mentioning here that there have been several murders in Chakradharpur related to rivalry over railway contracts.