The alley in the market where Pradip Jaiswal was murdered. A Telegraph picture

Balurghat, April 29: A gang of five youths gunned down the owner of an eatery in the heart of the main market area of the town this morning. They also hacked him with choppers to ensure his death before walking away in full view of bystanders.

Pradip Jaiswal was shot thrice — first on his forehead and twice on his chest.

Local traders downed their shutters following the incident and the area became deserted barring a police picket.

Eyewitnesses said the five youths, aged between 18 and 25, entered Pradip’s eatery at Tahabazar at 10.40am.

“One of them walked up to Pradip sitting at the cash counter, took out a revolver from his pocket and fired three rounds at him. As Pradip slumped on the floor bleeding profusely, the others began hacking him all over his body. The culprits then walked away calmly, leaving us stunned,” said a shop-owner who sells vegetables.

No customers were present in the eatery at the time of the incident. Two of Pradip’s employees were too stunned to react. The five culprits reportedly walked away towards the Bangladesh border. People stood rooted at the spot, too frightened to protest, another eyewitness said.

The additional superintendent of police of South Dinajpur, Imran Wahab, who inspected the spot, could not throw light on the motive behind the murder. “Today’s incident is perhaps the fallout of a long-standing grudge. We are investigating all angles,” he said.

Pradip was pronounced dead after he was taken to the district hospital here. The 42-year-old businessman is survived by his wife and three minor children — a son and two daughters.

“My brother had no enemies nor did anyone hold a grudge against him,” said, Suraj Jaiswal at the hospital.

Shopowners in the market felt that the murder was carried out by hired killers as no one had ever seen the culprits before. The traders were also angry that although the police station is located within a kilometre, the police arrived at the spot 20 minutes after the killers had walked away. “We will call a trade bandh in town if Pradip’s killers are not arrested within 24 hours,” said the secretary of the local traders’ body, Hareram Saha.

Bengal social welfare minister Biswanath Choudhury, the local MLA, also demanded the immediate arrest of the culprits.