One person has been arrested for the murder of local BJP leader and property dealer Satish Singh, who was shot from point blank range in the afternoon on August 19, police here said on Friday.

Police have recovered two pistols, one of them country made, besides a 7.62 bullet and an empty cartridge from Lalan Kumar Das (27), a driver of Putki. They have also recovered a motorcycle (Honda Shine-JH10 BP-0602) and a white Honda City (JH 10 BP -8722), both used by those responsible for the murder.

Dhanbad SP (city) R Ramkumar said Das was arrested after investigations by a special team and the technical cell of the police on the basis of CCTV footage recovered from the site of the murder at Matkuria.

“The car and two motorcycles were spotted moving together from JP Chowk, Subhash Chowk and other areas, besides Matkuria,” the SP said. After questioning the car owner, police were able to zero in on those who were involved in the killing, ie, Das and his brother-in-law Kishan Kumar Ravidas.

Police raided Ravidas’s house but could not arrest him. But they were able to recover a pistol from his place, in addition to the Honda Shine motorcycle, a helmet and a number plate.

Asked about the motive, Ramkumar said, “We are investigating two or three angles. But since investigations are on, we can’t give a conclusive statement on the possible motive as of now.”

Singh (40), a property dealer and Kendua mandal vice president of the BJP, was killed at Makuria on Dhanbad-Bokaro Road on August 19 at 3pm as soon as he got off his SUV and started walking towards Vikash Nagar while talking on his cell phone.

Singh was close to Dhanbad MLA Raj Sinha, who demanded that the district administration ensure a quick investigation into the killing. Sinha blamed the deteriorating law and order situation in the state under the Hemant Soren government and as a mark of protest also wore a black badge.

An SIT, led by DSP (Law and Order) Mukesh Kumar, was constituted on the instruction of coal belt range DIG Prabhat Kumar.