Wave of killings rattles Dehradun as Jharkhand businessman ‘gangster’ becomes fifth victim in 16 days

Five murders in 16 days have rattled Uttarakhand capital Dehradun and exposed the incompetence of the police. The latest victim is a Jharkhand businessman, an alleged gangster, who was shot dead from point-blank range at a shopping mall in broad daylight when he was coming out from a gymnasium on Friday morning.

Dehradun is facing a wave of killings for nearly a fortnight as a man was shot in the head while he was coming from a gym at Silver City shopping complex on Rajpur Road in the morning. The victim, who died on the spot, was identified as Vikram Sharma, a real estate and mining businessman from Jharkhand. Police stated that the initial probe revealed that it was the result of gang war in Jharkhand where the deceased was facing more than 50 criminal cases against him.

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The assailants fled the scene immediately after committing the crime even as the police were on a lookout for them. “The deceased, identified as Vikram Sharma, was shot at by the assailants when he was coming down from the gymnasium. Eyewitnesses informed that he was attacked by two unidentified persons. Doctors declared him dead when he was taken to the hospital” said Dehradun SSP Ajai Singh.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the deceased was a gangster in Jharkhand and had more than 50 cases registered against him. This was informed by the Jharkhand Police. It appears that his killing was the result of gang rivalry or his personal enmity as the victim has more than 50 cases behind him,” said Ajai Singh.

Vikram Sharma also owns a stone crusher in Udhamsingh Nagar. However, according to Singh, he mostly lived in Jharkhand but also had a house in Dehradun for casual stays.

The killing of Vikram Sharma on Friday came barely three days after a broad daylight murder of a businessman, Arjun Sharma, on February 11. He was shot dead outside the Tibetan Market in front of the press club raising serious questions on the efficiency of the police.

Prior to this, a sales girl, Gunjan, was murdered on February 2 at the heart of the town Dulha Bazaar as the accused Akash slit her throat with a cleaver. The accused is currently behind bars.

Earlier, a class 12 student, Manisha Tomar, was stabbed to death on January 29 at Vikasnagar and another girl Preeti Rawat was shot dead in Rishikesh a couple of days later.