Charanjit Singh Saluja, who has been missing since Friday. Telegraph picture

Two incidents of crime, both involving real estate agents on a single day, have put police officers of Ranchi on their toes and brought back grim memories of 2009, when the city had witnessed as many as four murders of businessmen.

The first case pertains to the killing of 50-year-old Chakla resident Ratilal Mahto, who was allegedly beaten to death by one Surendra Kumar Suman, a builder, and four of his aides on Friday midnight for refusing to hand over his land for building construction.

Mahto’s brother Ashok Kumar, who witnessed the incident and later in an FIR filed before the police against Suman, alleged that the builder and his aides had dragged Ratilal out of his house before beating him to death. He further claimed that the accused then had opened two rounds of fire in the air before escaping from the spot. Rantilal was later rushed to RIMS, where he was declared brought dead.

In the second case, Richa Saluja, the wife of Ranchi-based builder Charanjit Singh Saluja, filed an FIR with Argora police claiming that her husband had been missing since Friday, after he was shot at by two motorcycle-borne men near Argora Chowk.

According to the complaint, Charanjit alias Lucky Singh, along with three of his friend had stopped to pick up liquor from an Argora-based wine shop when he was targeted. While his friends managed to take cover, Charanjit is alleged to have run towards Harmu Housing Colony to fend off his attackers. While his friends returned home after that, the builder has been missing ever since and is feared to have been kidnapped, a claim vehemently denied by the police.

Confirming that an FIR was lodged in this regard, Argora police station in charge R.S. Patel said police were seriously investigating the case and hoped to make a breakthrough soon. He added that Charanjit was a resident of Basant Vihar. “The victim’s phone has been switched off ever since his disappearance. It is too early to say whether he has been kidnapped or not cause the family is yet to receive a ransom call,” Patel said.

Superintendent of police R.K. Prasad claimed that the police had launched an investigation in the Mahto murder case but were yet to trace the builder, who was absconding. “We are on the look out for the missing builder and are trying to trace Surendra Kumar Suman. We hope to crack these cases soon,” Prasad said.