The Hindu : Front Page : Scrap dealer murdered in broad daylight

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 30, 2006

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Scrap dealer murdered in broad daylight

Staff Reporter

Police suspect business rivalry or personal enmity as motive

CRIME SCENE: Forensic experts collecting blood sample of the victim on Thursday .— Photo: K.R. Deepak

VISAKHAPATNAM: In a cinema style, two motorcycle-borne youths shot dead a scrap dealer at the busy 104 area in the city on Thursday.

The duo went to the place on a numberless vehicle at 9.30 a.m. and opened fire at Samudrala Satyanarayana, 40, a scrap dealer, when he was supervising construction of a three-storied building. They shot him first on his chest and later on head and neck.

Eyewitnesses said that as Satyanarayana collapsed in a pool of blood, the miscreants opened fire in the air and sped away towards the highway on the black motorcycle. On hearing the news, his family members, who were in their rented house close-by, rushed to the spot.

Bloodstains collected

Experts from the CLUES team gathered bloodstains and other samples. Sniffer dogs were also deployed to track down the culprits.

Satyanarayana used to take part in railway tenders at Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam and other places to procure scrap worth crores of rupees. He also owned eight lorries.

``The way he was killed makes one suspect that it was handiwork of hired killers. It could be due to business rivalry or personal enmity. We are not ruling out anything right now,'' ACP (north) Y. Prembabu told The Hindu .

Victim forewarned

The bereaved family members said a few days ago, a gang of five youths visited their house and warned Satyanarayana of dire consequences if he bought a 130-square yard site. "It could be due to dispute over the site,'' Satyavati, his mother-in-law, said.

It is believed that meticulous planning was done to kill Satyanarayana after observing his movements. He was gunned down when he was discussing a point with the supervisor and mason of the building he was constructing for shifting his family.

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