Patna: Armed criminals shot dead a junior engineer posted with the government's local engineering organisation at Narpatganj in Araria district late Sunday night.

The deceased has been identified as Ramvilas Mahto, a native of Ranchi in Jharkhand. The incident occurred around 10.30pm near Hadiabara when he was returning on a motorcycle from Narpatganj to Araria town after finishing work.

Eyewitnesses said the murder came to light around 11pm when a few passing vehicles noticed the victim and his motorcycle lying on the roadside. Some villagers were alerted and soon they assembled on the spot. The police were also informed.

Though Mahto was taken to a local government hospital, he was declared brought dead.

Araria superintendent of police Dhurath Sayli Sablaram said: "The deceased was hit by two bullets. The murder is not related to robbery and there seems to be a personal angle in it. The police are investigating the case, though nobody has been arrested so far." Locals said three to four persons on two motorbikes were involved in the incident and they fled after firing several rounds at Mahto. Two bullets found the target.

Another police officer said the way the murder has been executed shows that the assailants knew the deceased and were aware of his movements as they were able to identify him at night. He also expressed possibility that either the criminals ambushed Mahto or were following him.

The postmortem has been conducted and the deceased's family have been informed.