Dehradun, February 13 An unidentified assailant shot and killed a businessman near Silver City Cinema on Rajpur Road here on Friday, police said.
This is the second murder in the city within the last 48 hours, and the third in 11 days.
The victim, identified as Vikram Sharma (50), was descending the stairs of the Parsvnath Eleganza Mall at 10:15 am after leaving a gym when he was shot from close range. He died instantly, police said.
SP (City) Pramod Kumar said Sharma and his associate Akhilesh Singh were involved in nearly 50 criminal cases, including murder and kidnapping, in Jharkhand and other states.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ajay Singh stated that while the deceased was based in Jharkhand, he owned an apartment in Dehradun and visited frequently.
Sharma also operated a stone crushing business in the Bajpur area of Udham Singh Nagar district.
Records show that the Jharkhand Police arrested him from Dehradun eight years ago, the SSP said.
Police suspect that the killing is the result of a gang war. A manhunt is on to apprehend the assailants, the officer added.
The string of three murders in Dehradun over the past two weeks has created an atmosphere of fear and unease among residents. A gas agency owner was shot dead on Wednesday, while a 22-year-old woman was murdered in Machhi Bazar on February 2.
