Amid unconfirmed reports of a shooter’s arrest in Jamshedpur hotelier Nikhar Sablok murder, the red hatchback car used by the assailants to flee after the shooting was seized from Mesra in Ranchi, while police teams are conducting raids in Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha for the two suspected shooters seen in the CCTV footage from the 10th Milestone Resort where Nikhar was shot dead on August 24, people close to the matter said on Friday.
“The two suspected shooters were seen in the CCTV footage but their exact identities are yet to be conclusively established. Raids are, however, being carried out in several states by different teams of the SIT. The red coloured hatchback without any numberplate used by the shooters to flee has been seized. The police suspect the shooters to be professional killers from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh or West Bengal, given the precision and cool execution of the entire operation. “Ashok Singh Raghav, Mohd Kalam, notorious history sheeter Ravi Das and Dara from Sonari locality are being interrogated while the woman who was also seen in the CCTV footage at the time of the incident in the resort, is also being questioned.
A senior police officer in the 18-member SIT said they were expecting a breakthrough in a day or two. Local leaders like Congress leader Manman Singh, INTUC block president Gurucharan Karmakar, Asim Janjati Samaj (AJS) leader Sukhlal Pahariya, Jantal Baba worship place’s Bhushan Pahariya and Pardih resident Jeevan Singh Deo too have also been questioned by the police in past 3-4 days. She had been visiting the resort daily for the past 3-4 days before Nikhar Sablok was murdered,” a police officer said.
This car was last seen at the Bundu toll plaza before being abandoned in Mesra locality of Ranchi,” a senior police officer said, not willing to be quoted.
“The investigation is ongoing in the right direction and all the crucial leads are being followed. Over 50 persons have been interrogated, CCTV footage in and around the resort and several toll plazas have been examined.
The shooters first moved towards Jamshedpur and then shifted to a red car on way to Chandil,” the officer said.
