Extortion Plot Behind Bengal Club Road Firing in Jamshedpur Unearthed

Jamshedpur: Steel City police have solved the sensational firing incident on Bengal Club Road in Sakchi, revealing that the attack was allegedly carried out to intimidate local traders and pave the way for an extortion racket. 

A 28-year-old man has been arrested and the weapon used in the crime recovered.

The accused, identified as Vipin Shukla of Tuiladungri in Golmuri, was apprehended following an intensive investigation launched after shots were fired near a tea stall in Sakchi on the night of June 19. 

The incident, which occurred around 10 pm near the Abhishek Jubilee Tea Stall, had triggered panic among shopkeepers and residents in the bustling commercial locality.

Investigators recovered a 7.65 mm cartridge case from the scene and, acting on the directives of senior police officials, constituted a special team under the supervision of the City SP and DSP to crack the case.

Relying on a combination of technical surveillance and intelligence inputs, police traced the suspect and arrested him near Hathi Ghoda Temple while he was reportedly on his way towards Sitaramdera Bus Stand on June 21. During the operation, officers seized an illegal country-made pistol along with a magazine from his possession.

Subsequent interrogation led to the recovery of another firearm that had been concealed in bushes along the banks of the Subarnarekha River.

 During questioning, Shukla allegedly confessed that the firing was intended to create fear among shopkeepers and coerce them into paying extortion money.

Police said a case has been registered under the relevant provisions of law and the accused has been remanded to judicial custody. 

Investigators are also probing whether he had links with any organised criminal network operating in the region.

The swift breakthrough has reassured local traders, many of whom had expressed concern over the brazen act of gun violence in one of the city's prominent business districts.

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