The police have identified the suspects who allegedly shot dead a 50-year-old businessman near his shop in Sadar Bazar on Tuesday night.

An officer, on the condition of anonymity, said that the suspects were identified through CCTV camera footage.

The police said that they have constituted five teams, comprising police and crime branch officers, to investigate the case and track the suspects.

The police said that they are questioning those running shops and living in the vicinity.

Sumer Singh Yadav, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), west, said, “At present, it would be premature to comment on the reason behind the incident. The police are checking the CCTV footages from multiple angles. An investigation is underway.”

According to the police, the incident took place on Tuesday around 9pm when Sudhir Taneja, the deceased, was exiting his shop.

“When he was about to leave on his Honda Activa, at least three men, who were already present at the spot, shot at him from a close range. They snatched away the cash he was carrying, which included the whole day’s earning at the shop and money for a committee (lottery) that he used to run. The men fled the spot on his scooty,” Taneja’s elder brother had stated in his police complaint, based on which a first information report (FIR) was filed.

Taneja was rushed to a private hospital following the shooting, but was declared brought dead on arrival by doctors, he said.

The police said that the deceased sustained two gunshot wounds to his chest. The police also recovered one live round from the spot.

Police personnel from the Shivaji Nagar, Sector 5, New Colony and Gurgaon city station have been roped in for the investigation.

“When I heard the gunshots, I initially assumed that they were the sound of a Royal Enfield Bullet’s silencer. It was only after a few moments that I realised Tanejaji was shot,” one of the shop owners near the victim’s shop said.

Bhartender, station police station (SHO), Gurgaon city police station, said that the police have not been able to trace Taneja’s scooty. He added, “The family has not mentioned extortion calls or any suspect. Preliminary probe suggests that the deceased was carrying around ₹6 lakh cash.”

The victim’s family members said that Taneja did not have an enemy or a business rival.

“Earlier in the evening, when he went to his home to collect the cash, his wife asked him to not carry such a huge amount of the money, but he did heed her and returned to his shop,” a distant relative of Taneja, who works with a private hospital, said.

A case was registered against the suspects under sections 302, 397 of the IPC and relevant sections of the Arms Act at the Gurgaon city police station on Tuesday.

First Published: May 30, 2019 01:05 IST