Dhanbad ex-mayor’s murder: Hitman promised Rs 1 lakh for each bullet
It was one of the grisliest murders in the coal town that has seen horrific mine mafia shootings in the past.
The hitman who killed Dhanbad’s former deputy mayor and Congress leader Neeraj Singh was allegedly promised by his paymaster Rs 1 lakh for each bullet fired at the target.
Hired shooter Aman Singh of Uttar Pradesh and three more assailants riddled Neeraj and three more people with 67 bullets from AK-47 assault rifles and pistols on the evening of March 21.
It was one of the grisliest murders in the coal town that has seen horrific mine mafia shootings in the past. The assailants on motorcycles intercepted Neeraj’s SUV and fired for several minutes before riding away. He, his driver and another man died in the shooting.
The former mayor’s younger brother, Aditya Raj, survived and he has accused a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader of orchestrating the killing.
Shooter Aman was picked up by Uttar Pradesh police in Mirzapur after a multi-state hunt as the murder triggered a political war against the BJP-led government in Jharkhand.
He revealed on Sunday that his team was told to fire at will and given the incentive of Rs 1 lakh for each bullet that hits Neeraj, an investigator said after the shooter was brought to Dhanbad.
Another shooter, Satish, was told to cut down driver Gholtu to stop the car and then all four would pump as many bullets as possible at their main target, the Congress leader, he said.
Witness Aditya identified Aman at an identification parade of suspects on Tuesday inside Dhanbad jail.
According to prison officials present at the parade, Aditya said he clearly saw Aman firing towards the car whose headlights were on.
Police have arrested five people, including Jharia legislator Sanjeev Singh of the BJP, who is Neeraj’s cousin. The MLA was shifted from Dhanbad prison to Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Central Jail.
It was alleged in the FIR lodged by Neeraj’s younger brother Eklavya Singh that the BJP legislator, his brother Siddharth Gautam and associates Manish, Mahant Pandey, Jaynendra Singh and Dhanji Pandey conspired to kill the town’s former top official.
Also, the complainant alleged that the legislator too shot at Neeraj along with the hired shooters during the incident near Steel Gate under Saraidhela police station.