Unidentified criminals shot dead a 40-year-old dhaba owner at Hasadungri under Kapali thana out post area about five kms away from the heart of the steel city on Saturday night.

The victim, Shamim Ahmed, used to run a dhaba at Kamargora was returning home in Kapali after closing the eatery around 10 pm when the incident took place.

An auto-rickshaw driver, Mohammed Tanvir, found him lying in a pool of blood. Soon along with some other local residents he rushed the victim to Bramhanand Narayan Super Speciality Hospital in Tamulia. But as the condition of the victim was extremely critical, the doctors of the hospital referred him to Tata Main Hospital, about a 20 minutes drive. At the Tata Main Hospital emergency, he was declared dead.

Ahmed was also a key functionary of Jharkhand Pool Cars Association who had been shot in his temple from close range.

OC, Kapali TOP, Binod Singh had rushed to the scene and subsequently to Tata Main Hospital in the night for investigation of the murder.

Singh had gone to the spot and to the victim's house on Sunday morning to know if the victim had enmity with anyone.

Family members have told the police that Ahmed had no enmity with anyone, but recently he had scolded a local youth, Chhotelal, after an inverter went missing from the dhaba.

"As of now, we have got no clue why the criminals shot him. We are trying to detect the case by interrogating the suspects," said the Kapali TOP OC to The Telegraph Online.

The police are also looking into the loot angle behind the murder as Hasadungri located on Dobo-Kanderbera Road connecting Sonari through the Domuhani Bridge is a crime-prone area.