Kalimpong, Oct. 24: Three weeks have passed since the death of dissident GNLF leader C. K Pradhan, and yet the police are as clueless about the motive as they were on the date of the murder. The murderer too is at large.

Witnesses are not willing to talk. Even the assurance of secrecy and police protection has not been able to break the stoic silence they have maintained.

“We have left no stone unturned during the course of conducting our investigation but without the co-operation of the residents, particularly the shopkeepers in the market place we, we have not been able to make any progress,” a police official said.

“Even if we get an idea about what the assailant looked like, we could hit upon some leads that might help us with the probe,” police personnel at the Kalimpong Police station said.

What, however, has stumped the police, is the fact that the prime witness to the killing, 36-year-old modified ration shop owner, Manik Sarkar, who was speaking to CK when the incident happened has also drawn himself away from the whole affair.

“We had questioned him thrice but failed to get anything out of him,” they added.

But even as police draw blanks from all quarters, rumours, of shopkeepers’ non-cooperation, stemming from fear of dire consequences, ran rife.

“CK was a very popular leader and no one could have imagined anyone would have had the guts to shoot him at the market place. If some one could do that to CK, what chance do we stand,” a shopkeeper at the market place said.

Though CK’s wife Sheela Pradhan maintained a discreet silence about the manner in which things were progressing, Dk Pradhan, Ck’s elder brother minced no words.

“We will wait to see how things progress, but I will not sit tight doing nothing if the law enforcers do nothing but raise false hopes. I am his brother and I will make sure that the murderer is tracked down and brought to justice,” he said.

“I had approached the GNLF top brass to take up the matter and ensure that investigation is conducted properly. They have, however, not come to my aid,” he added.

Many of Pradhans friends and political allies, however, believed that the killing was masterminded by people who were jealous of the public support he enjoyed.

“He was the most popular leader in Kalimpong, and the gathering at his funeral was ample proof of the public support he enjoyed. One can quite assess the heights he would have reached had he formed a separate party,” he said.

Pradhan was a debonair yet down-to –earth man. He was easily approachable and though he came to limelight as a militant leader who held fort in Kalimpong in the mid-eighties, he metamorphosed into a people’s leader which made him popular,” he added

Meanwhile, the Kalimpong wing of the GNLF, which had submitted the ASP a deputation earlier this week demanding a speedy investigation, said that it would keep the pressure on the administration going to ensure a speedy probe into the matter .

The additional superintendent of police, Kalimpong, Tripurari said that police was in the process of gathering information.

“We are not exactly clueless, though we do have a long way to go before we can put the case to rest. said Tripurari. “the good news is that we have obtained some important clues which might give us good leads once they are strung together, he added.

Pradhan was shot dead in broad daylight on October 3,on the eve of launching a new political party with a few more dissident leaders of GNLF.