Guwahati, Jan. 22: The CBI today filed a closure report on the murder of newspaper editor Anil Mazumdar, naming a deceased surrendered Ulfa rebel as the culprit.

Mazumdar, who was the editor of Assamese daily Aji, was shot dead by an unidentified gunman in front of his Rajgarh residence here on March 24, 2009.

Though his driver and neighbours had rushed Mazumdar to International Hospital, he had been declared dead on arrival by doctors.

Cartridges of a 9mm pistol were found at the site.

The CBI in its chargesheet - filed at the court of the special judicial magistrate, Assam - had stated that surrendered Ulfa militant Bijoy Phukan had shot Mazumdar.

About a fortnight after Mazumdar's murder, the bullet-riddled body of Phukan, who hailed from Karbi Anglong district, was found on the bank of the Brahmaputra at Mukalmua in Nalbari district.

Gauhati High Court had ordered a CBI investigation into Mazumdar's murder in January 2012 after his widow, Malika, pleaded for an inquiry by the central agency after expressing dissatisfaction with the CID investigation.

The CBI special crime branch in Calcutta investigated the case and from the description of the killer given by Mazumdar's driver, Ramen Nath, it concluded that Phukan had killed Mazumdar.