By IANS,
Ranchi : A government official was killed by unidentified assailants in Palamau district of Jharkhand, police said Monday.
The victim Om Prakash Rai was shot dead at his house Sunday night by three men, who arrived on a bike and asked about his identity. Rai, a resident of Bihar, was hit by three bullets while he was talking to a junior engineer Anand Singh. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead.
Rai, an engineer with the Public Health and Engineering Department (PHED), was posted in Husainabad block of Palamau district, around 210 km from here.
“We are investigating the case on two angles. Rai could have developed enemies by not favouring contractors in tender and second reason could be denial of payment of extortion money by him,” a police official told IANS over phone.
He said an intensive combing operation has been launched and bordering areas of districts have been sealed.
Earlier, two engineers of the PHED department left Palamau district after extortion demands by criminals.
The Engineers Association has expressed grief and demanded immediate arrest of the criminals.