BJP supporters protest outside Tata Main Hospital. (Srinivas)

Jamshedpur, Dec. 17: Unidentified assailants shot dead a senior specialist of Tata Main Hospital (TMH) at his residence in the posh Northern Town locality of Bistupur this evening.

This was the second attack on a medical professional in the steel city within a fortnight. On December 3, a bike gang had shot at and injured a retired TMH doctor near the Ganesh puja grounds in Kadma.

Around 6.10pm today, two men called on Prabhat Kumar (52), head of TMH’s casualty wing and a BJP sympathiser, at his residence. Some patients, waiting for the doctor in an adjoining chamber, said there was an argument and then they heard gunshots.

East Singhbhum superintendent of police (SP) Naveen Kumar Singh said the doctor was shot from point-blank range with a pistol and the two assailants escaped on a bike. “The motive behind the murder is not clear. We have found some clues that may lead us to the killers,” he said, adding that they were also trying to find out whether this incident was linked with that of December 3.

The victim’s elder son, Saurav Kumar, said his father was rushed to TMH, where he died around 7.25pm. Saurav claimed six bullets were pumped into the doctor’s body while the police said they recovered four empty cartridges.

The incident triggered angry protests, with local residents and politicians, cutting across party lines, demonstrating in front of TMH and demanding the immediate transfer of Singh. They said the SP had failed to check increasing crime in the city.

Prabhat Kumar was the state president of the BJP’s medical cell. The party has called a bandh in Jamshedpur tomorrow in protest against his murder. Senior BJP leader and former chief minister Arjun Munda condemned the killing. “The local administration is to be blamed for such incidents,” he said.

In view of the bandh, Rajendra Vidyalaya, Motilal Nehru Public School and Sacred Heart Convent have suspended classes for a day.