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| Wife and children of deceased Dilip Yadav. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh |
Patna, Jan. 11: Body of Dilip Yadav (30), a cook-cum-manager of a small hotel in the city, was found dead this morning near his house at Ram Nath Path under Jakkanpur police station.
Residents of the area found Yadav’s body lying by the roadside just 15 metres from his house and informed the family members and police.
Police sources said the body borne gunshot injury. Yadav used to work in a small hotel at Boring Canal Road.
The sources said a theft angle to the murder could not be ruled out. However, they have not arrested anyone in connection with the case.
Yadav’s wife Sushma said: “My husband used to be home by 11pm. I got worried when he did not return even after midnight.”
“I called him and he said that he was on his way home. After 1am, I called again, but this time his phone was switched off. I did not know what to do.”
She said: “I think I heard a fire shot around 1.15am. In the morning, people told me that my husband had been shot.”
Originally from Gazipur area in Uttar Pradesh, Yadav and his family members were living in Patna for over a decade.
The couple has two children, seven-year-old Piyush and four-year-old Prince.
The residents said they had never seen Yadav get into any quarrel with anyone.
“He was a calm man who never got into unnecessary squabbles and arguments with anyone. It is a shocking incident. Why will someone kill him? The family is in a state of shock. So are we,” said Eklavya Kumar, a resident of the area.
While police refused to divulge any information on the reason behind the crime, some sources said that perhaps some criminals, on their way back after committing a crime, saw him and shot him fearing identification.
“There is a possibility a thief who came to steal saw Yadav and fearing identification, shot him. The bullet seems to have been fired from a country-made pistol and from close range. Today around 8am, the neighbours spotted the body and informed the police. The body has been moved to the Patna Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem,” a source said.
Patna City superintendent of police Manu Maharaj visited the spot and directed the police to investigate the case.