Two 25-year-old men have been arrested from Mumbai in connection with the murder of Suman Rakshit, 21, who was shot dead at Patel Path near Moon City on Dimna Road under Ulidih police station on January 15.

Residents of Ulidih in Mango, Rishu Srivastava and Rahul Dubey were arrested from Lokmanya Tilak Station in Mumbai on Sunday.

Police have recovered a 9mm pistol, a live cartridge and a motorcycle from the duo. Revealing about the breakthrough, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Anoop Birtharay said Suman had bet Rs 3 lakh on a one-day match between India and Australia, but lost it.

When Rishu and Rahul, through whom the bet was placed, demanded the money from Suman, he declined.

Police said the duo had visited Suman’s house a number of times, but couldn’t recover the money from him.

Finally, they decided to teach him a lesson. Narrating the sequence of event on the fateful day, Birtharay said: “After firing at Suman, Rishi and Rahul left their bike at Pujanjali apartment in Ulidih and left for Ranchi in another motorbike. From Ranchi, they took a train to Mumbai where they were arrested.” During interrogation, Rishu had revealed that they wanted to shoot Suman in the hand and injure him, but the bullet found his chest instead.

The SSP said they had tried to get the duo to reveal the names of those involved in the illegal betting racket, but they were tight-lipped. “We will take both the accused in police remand and will try to find out the kingpin of the betting racket in the steel city,” Birtharay said.

He said the CCTV camera footage, call detail records and a few Ulidih residents who knew about the dispute between Suman and the assailants helped them to solve the case. Suman was shot dead while returning home to Patel Nagar in Ulidih from a gym near Moon City in Mango on January 15.

After being shot, local residents rushed him to Tata Main Hospital where the doctors on emergency duty declared him brought dead.