Despite 72 hours having passed since a local blanket trader from Nirmala Chavni was shot dead barely 500 metres away from the city police station, police are still clueless regarding the identities of the assailants. Four bike-borne assailants pumped four bullets in Amit Dixit alias Goldey (37) near the latter’s residence on Monday evening while he was on his way to his shop near the Mata Mansa Devi road. Hailing from Saharanpur, he was living with his relatives in Haridwar for the past few years. Meanwhile, angered over the police’s failure to nab the assailants, the city- based traders have issued a deadline to the police to arrest the culprits by March 10 failing which they warned to take to the streets. They said they were feeling insecure during a meeting with the senior superintendent of police on Thursday.
Police claimed to have recorded statements of the deceased’s wife on Thursday. Besides, a special task force has been formed to crack the case. Police are convinced that the motive behind the murder is some kind of property dispute. Sure that some sharp shooters were behind the murder the police are in contact with the Uttar Pradesh police to get information about the professional shooters who are now out on bail. The CCTV camera installed near the site could not, however, have helped police to become clear about the physical features of the assailants
City circle officer Prakash Singh Deoli said that they could not have talked to the family members of the deceased earlier. “The wife of Dixit was in trauma. However, today we have been able to record her statement,” he said.
Police hope to get some important clues from the phone calls made by some unidentified persons on the cell of Dixit over the past few days. Besides, they are rummaging the investment details of the dead trader in search of clues. The members of the trust the deceased was associated are also being interrogated.
Throwing some light on the case, Deoli said, “Prima facie it seems to be linked to some property dispute. The trader was intimate with many some of whom might have benami properties. The wife of the deceased can help us in identifying the murders.”
A leading local businessman Om Prakash Jamdagni said that if police failed to arrest the culprits by the deadline they would have the markets closed. “Besides, we would not play Holi,” he said, adding that the crime graph of the holy city was on an upward curve.