A policeman hunts for clues at the murder spot outside Arun Sheet’s Balitikuri foundry on Tuesday. Picture by Sanat Kumar Sinha

The Howrah neighbourhood of 48-year-old businessman Arun Sheet observed a bandh on Tuesday to protest his killing.

Sheet, physically challenged, was shot dead on Monday evening by three unidentified gunmen who came to the doorstep of his foundry, in Balitikuri, on a motorcycle. No arrests have been made.

“We have come across some clues but cannot divulge them for the sake of the investigation,” said Niraj Kumar Singh, superintendent of police (Howrah). “We are also trying to find out if Sheet ran any other business.”

Police have interrogated a number of people, including the employees of Sheet’s foundry. “We deployed sniffer dogs in the morning. Besides, our officers are verifying some papers that have been recovered from the victim’s office,” the police superintendent said.

“Our investigation has revealed that the killers had pumped four bullets into the man from close quarters right in front of his foundry, Arun Engineering. No sophisticated firearms were used,” said an investigating officer.

The body bore four bullet injuries, though only two bullets were recovered. “A couple of bullets sliced through the flesh and went out of the body,” the officer added.

The owners of all shops and factories in Balitikuri kept their shutters down to protest “police inaction despite growing lawlessness” in the town.

“No one forced us to close our shops. We did it on our own to protest police inaction. A day has passed since the murder, but no one has been arrested. Even yesterday, police arrived three hours after being informed about the murder, though Dasnagar investigation centre is only a stone’s throw away,” said Kamalesh Adhikari, a local businessman. A 200-strong group organised a rally in front of the investigation centre.