Three men who allegedly sheltered the shooters of 27-year-old promoter Mohammad Shafique, gunned down in Howrah’s Pilkhana early on Wednesday morning, were arrested on Thursday.
The trio — Mohammad Bilal, Mohammad Dildar, and Wakil Hussain — have been booked on charges of harbouring criminals and criminal conspiracy. The prime accused, Harun Khan and Rohit, remained at large till Thursday evening.
“We have arrested three associates of the killers. They helped the killers... and were part of the conspiracy. I cannot divulge further details for the sake of investigation,” Howrah police commissioner Akash Magharia said.
Shafique, a developer from Pilkhana, was shot dead in public view by two men identified by police and Shafique’s family as Harun Khan and Rohit.
After the killing, the two accused fled the scene and reached GT Road, where Bilal, Dildar and Wakil were allegedly present to ensure no one was following them, police sources said.
The trio reportedly accompanied the suspects from GT Road to Bilal’s MN Burman Street home and then to an address on Harinbari Lane where Dildar and Wakil lived. The police said the three also helped provide logistics for the suspects’ escape from Calcutta.
The three men were produced in a Howrah court and remanded in police custody.
“We are trying to trace the location of the main accused,” a senior officer of Howrah city police said.
Investigators are yet to determine how Harun and Rohit fled from the Harinbari Lane residence. “Apart from trains and taxis, we are not ruling out trucks and cars rented through transport companies,” an officer said.
Central Calcutta has several companies that rent out vehicles for inter-state travel. The police are also examining whether the accused have contacts in neighbouring states.
A senior officer said the murder was premeditated. “It was a planned killing. We are investigating with whom the two men interacted and the places they visited before committing the crime. That may provide vital leads,” the officer said.
The shooting occurred around 4.10am on Wednesday when Shafique stepped out to buy sehri, the pre-dawn meal before the day’s fast during Ramzan. He was seen talking to two men on a busy Pilkhana street as residents prepared for early morning Ramzan rituals. Two men shot him in the head and then fired multiple rounds to ensure he was dead, before fleeing, the police said.
The killing was captured on CCTV.
On Thursday, hundreds of residents, including Shafique’s family, gathered on the streets demanding justice. “If the police fail to arrest my brother’s killers, I will take the law into my own hands,” his elder sister, Anwari Begum, said, adding that the police had failed to apprehend the main accused.
