March 23: Four men on two bikes fired as many shots at a man in Tangra this morning, leaving him with a bullet wound in the leg.

Police said Mohammad Jurman, in his 30s, was sitting by the side of DC Dey Road around 6.30am when the shooters struck.

"Three bullets missed him... the last one hit him in the leg," an officer of Tangra police station said.

"He has been operated on at NRS Medical College and Hospital."

Anwar Sheikh, a witness, said the pillion passengers fired at Jurman.

"As the first bullet missed him, Jurman got up and started running. They then fired thrice at him... when Jurman fell to the ground, they sped away."

Cops have identified two of the men as Bablu and Ayub, who are from the same locality.

"Jurman spent two years in jail after being caught with drugs. He returned a week ago," an officer said.

"Bablu and Ayub are known as drug peddlers in the area. We are trying to find out if they considered Jurman a competitor and wanted to wipe him out."

On his return, Jurman had protested the sale of drugs in the area, some of the residents claimed.

Another officer, however, said the protest was a ploy to drive out the other two from the area.

"He (Jurman) has a long history of peddling drugs in the Tangra area. He wanted to run the show without any competition," the officer said.

A doctor at NRS said Jurman's condition was stable.