Hotel employee shot dead in Jamuria

Kolkata: A 50-year-old employee of a hotel at Jamuria in Asansol has been shot dead from a point blank range inside the hotel on Saturday night.

Police said the victim, Hariram Layek, was a resident of Tardanga in Purulia and had been working in the hotel at Jamuria for the past several years.

Police came to know after preliminary investigation that four miscreants, with their faces covered, had come to the hotel on two motorbikes. They went inside the hotel and had enquired about something from Layek. Subsequently, there was an exchange of heated words for a couple of minutes and the miscreants opened fire at him. He received bullet injuries on his belly.

Other employees of the hotel went to the spot hearing the sound of gunshot. The miscreants had fled by that time, realising that they would get caught as other employees were coming to the spot where the incident took place.

The victim's colleagues found him lying in a pool of blood and took him to Asansol District Hospital where he was declared brought dead.

Police have initiated a probe in this connection and sent the body for an autopsy. They are, however, yet to ascertain the exact reason behind the murder, but suspecting that old business rivalry might have led to the crime.

Police are speaking to the victim's family members to know whether they were aware of any recent incidents that might have led to his rivalry with anyone.

Moreover, police have also spoken to other employees of the hotel to know the same. They are also going through the footages of surveillance cameras installed in the area. The incident has led to panic in the area and police have intensified the vigil to avoid repetition of any such incident.