Ramadhin Pandey undergoes treatment at Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital. Picture by Gopiraman Mishra

Muzaffarpur, March 3: Police in Sitamarhi have lodged an FIR against five unidentified criminals in connection with yesterday’s murder of two construction company officials.

Five motorcycle-borne suspected Maoists gunned down project manager Gaya Baksh Singh and engineer Vikas Mishra of SP Singhla Construction Ltd at Belsand, about 17km from Sitamarhi district headquarters and 135km north of Patna.

The police lodged the FIR on the basis of the verbal statement of Ramadhin Pandey, an engineer with the company who was injured in the attack and is at present recuperating at Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) here. A team from Belsand police station visited SKMCH last night and recorded Pandey’s statement.

Around 9.45am yesterday, five men on two motorcycles, armed with AK-47 and AK-56 rifles, intercepted an SUV near the gate of Chandoli High School, close to the Belsand market.

The vehicle was carrying a team of engineers of SP Singhla Construction Ltd. The assailants dragged out Singh, Mishra and Pandey and shot dead Singh and Mishra from close range.

Pandey, who tried to flee, suffered bullet injuries. Following the attack, the bikers fled towards Chandoli village in the eastern direction.

Tirhut divisional commissioner S.K. Negi and deputy inspector-general of police (DIG) Bachu Singh Meena today held discussions with officials of the construction company and the district authorities. The DIG has pledged all assistance to the construction company. He has also asked superintendent of police (Sitamarhi) Vivek Kumar to launch a manhunt and arrest the assailants.

Though the DIG did not rule out involvement of the Maoists in the attack on SP Singhla Construction Ltd officials, sources in the police suspected that Santosh Kumar Jha, a gangster, could have masterminded the attack. Jha was arrested by Ranchi police last month, but is at present out on bail.

In the meantime, the bodies of Singh and Mishra have been sent to their families in Uttar Pardesh.