Jamshedpur, June 27: After 12 hours of the murder of Jagtar Singh Latthe, the city police today launched a hunt to nab the culprits.
While a police team has been dispatched for an undisclosed destination in Bihar, another team is conducting raids on possible hideouts in places including Burmamines, Sidhgora and Golmuri, to apprehend those involved in the crime.
A gang of assailants, led by dreaded criminal Harpal Singh alias Heere, gunned down the 28-year-old at a roadside hotel in Garabasa under Golmuri police station last night.
Though the victim, a resident of East Plant Bustee, Burmamines, was rushed to Tata Main Hospital, he was declared brought dead. He was shot at from point blank range in his temple and shoulder.
Today, during the post-mortem, a pillet from the skull of the deceased was recovered.
The pillet was of that nine-MM calibre, which suggested that the criminals had used sophisticated pistols for the killing.
After a lull of couple of years, a spate of murders has rocked the steel city, giving sleepless nights to the police.
At least three persons were murdered in separate incidents in the city during the past 11 days.
On the night of June 15, body of a 26-year-old youth was recover from near RD Tata Technical Institute under Golmuri police station.
The deceased was later identified as Shanker Santras alias Surender Bangali, an employee of a transport company. He had been shot at in his temple from close range, suggesting that the killers were professional.
In another incident, body of a 28-year-old youth was found lying in a pool of blood along Kharkai river under Bistupur police station yesterday. The dead was later identified as Prakash Singh, an eyewitness of a murder committed two years ago.
Significantly, three days back, the police had arrested three youths during arms checking drive.
The police had also recovered two loaded pistols from them. They have been identified as Sahnawaz Khan, Aftab Alam and Imtiaz Pasi, residents of Mango. They were on their way to murder an alleged informer of Kapali thana.
?But what worries the police most is the influx of illegal firearms and an increasing trend of contract-killing in the city,? said Rajiv Ranjan, deputy superintendent of police.
?We are going to launch a drive to flush out the firearms from the city,? said the DSP, adding: ?Crime has to be curbed by all means.?