Kolkata, February 27 The West Bengal government transferred the investigation into the murder of real estate developer Safiq Khan from the Howrah City Police to the state CID on Friday, an official said.
The probe transfer followed an appeal from members of the victim's family, who expressed concerns that no arrests had been made by the local Golabari police station despite more than 48 hours having passed, he added.
Shafiq was shot dead by assailants at close range in full public view in the early hours of Wednesday in the Pilkhana area of north Howrah.
Chilling visuals of the incident, which were captured on CCTV cameras, showed the victim engaging in a verbal exchange with one of his attackers at a tea stall, followed by his collapse after being repeatedly shot in the head and chest by two assailants.
The prime suspects of the crime, Harun Khan, a suspected Afghan national, and Rafakat alias Rohit, remain at large after fleeing the crime scene, which is less than a kilometre from the local police station and a few kilometres from the commissionerate headquarters.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that Safiq and Harun were friends who had become bitter business rivals, and that both had a history of engaging in anti-social activities.