Jamshedpur contractor Congress Biruli (40) who was shot at on Thursday evening died in hospital around midnight, with police sniffing a village fair subscription row as the trigger.
Two persons - identified as Govinda Sarkar (35) and Chinmay Swarnakar (37), both residents of Haludbani in Parsudih like their victim - have been arrested, but key accused Sitaram Sharma (40) of the same neighbourhood is on the run.
According to DSP (law and order) B.N. Singh, the acrimony between Biruli and Sharma dates back to 2015. "Some four months ago, Sharma who organises an annual fair at Kochakoli village demanded Rs 500 from Biruli. The father of five refused to oblige, leading to a bitter altercation then," DSP Singh said.
Around 4.30pm on Thursday, when Biruli was biking home, the three accused who were drunk intercepted him at Haludbani in Parsudih, 6km from the heart of the city, and once again demanded Rs 500 as chanda or subscription though the fair was over between November 23 and 25 last year.
"Biruli refused and following a brief and bitter argument, Sitaram lost his cool. He fished out a pistol and shot Biruli from point-blank range. The contractor took the bullet in the abdomen and breathed his last at Tata Main Hospital around midnight," said the DSP.
Incidentally, Biruli was the second murder victim in Parsudih in the past 48 hours.
On Wednesday night, one Ram Prakash (35) had assaulted one Rahul Patro (25) with a chopper and subsequently set him on fire near his house in Sarjamda. The assailant himself received grievous burns during the attack. They were admitted to MGM Medical College and Hospital in Sakchi, where both succumbed to their injuries.
Parsudih thana OC B.K. Chaturvedi conceded that they were yet to unfold the mystery behind the fatal injuries inflicted on Rahul by Ram Prakash. "We have learnt that the killing has a connection with the practice of black magic. We are probing the murder on the basis of statements given by Ram Prakash's widow Kabutri Devi and Rahul's sister Santoshi Patro," he said.
DSP Singh blamed easy access to cheap, illicit liquor in suburban Parsudih for the spurt in crime, adding that police were trying to shut down these dens. "A special drive to detect unlicensed firearms is also on the radar," he said.
