M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, April 24: An unruly mob hampered the police action soon after the murder of a man on NH 98 giving space and time for the assailant to make good or for the time being go into hiding.
The result is that there is no breakthrough in the NH 98 shootout last night in which Mithilesh Yadav, 38, a brick kiln owner was point-blank shot dead under the Chhaterpur police station.
According to SDPO Chhaterpur Ajay Kumar, the local police immediately reached the spot, barely 4 km away from the police station and began cordoning off the area but in the meanwhile, a small-time self-styled civil society activist Ashok Yadav started creating a scene and soon a mob of angry people gathered there shouting anti-police slogans.
The SDPO said this man did all ugly things to fish in the troubled waters just to rehabilitate himself as Chhaterpur police had zeroed in on him in a case lodged against him under the SC /ST Prevention of atrocities act.
SP Chandan Kumar Sinha said the mob pelted stones at our police team and even partially damaged a police vehicle. The NH 98 was jammed too, he added.
However, the SP said the mob realised its folly and cleared NH 98 giving the police time to probe into the murder of the brick kiln owner.
The SDPO said that had this mob that was gathered and instigated by Ashok Yadav not wasted the time of the police then shortly after the shoot-out leading to the murder of the brick kiln owner, the police could have gathered information or evidence of the crime of the murder putting heat on the runaway killer.
On motive for the murder, the SP said, “Police are working on all possible angles. First, it may be a fallout of the business animosity or rivalry. Again there can be some other issues also.”
The deceased was shot dead near a tea-selling shop.
Sources said there were two people there and the deceased was having a talk with one of the two, an elderly man.
The SDPO said the police do have this information of an elderly man there whom it would approach to elicit whatever information he had or to what extent he would be able to share with the police.
