By IANS,
Varanasi : Eight people have been arrested for the murder of a senior excise official in this Uttar Pradesh city last month, police said Monday.
Those held for the killing of Narvadeshwar Singh, additional commissioner of the central excise department, include two sharp shooters and two tobacco company owners.
Singh was shot dead in daylight in a busy market in Varanasi Aug 23 by four unidentified gunmen.
“The two businessmen, Shrikant Chaurasia and Pramod Chaurasia, allegedly gave Rs.500,000 for the contract killing. During investigations it was revealed that Singh had seized goods worth nearly Rs.1.5 crore (Rs.15 million) earlier this year from them. Irked by this, they approached a man called Ashish Singh who arranged for the shooters,” Superintendent of Police (City) Vijay Bhushan told reporters.
While the two shooters, Ravi Patel and Manish Singh, have been arrested, two other accused — Manoj Singh and Kishan Vishwakarma — are absconding, the official said.