Two unidentified goons allegedly shot dead an Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL) employee from point blank range on Tuesday night in West Burdwan’s Jamuria.

The victim, 55-year-old Madan Bauri, was posted at the ECL’s Chapui colliery in Raniganj.

Police said Bauri was sitting outside a closed meat shop around 11pm near Chanda More crossing on NH2 when two motorcycle-borne assailants arrived and the one riding pillion pumped three bullets into his forehead.

“As he slumped to the ground, the goons left. We saw a person get shot and the incident has scared us,” said a person who had been standing close to Bauri when the incident took place.

Police rushed to the spot after being informed by bystanders and started investigations.

Bauri was rushed to Asansol district hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival. The three bullets from his head were removed by doctors during post-mortem.

After preliminary investigations, police picked up two employees of the meat shop for questioning.

Police said Bauri, who lived in Chapui, used to visit the shop regularly and spent time talking with its owner and employees till late at night.

“The assailants knew Bauri would be at the shop and had planned to murder him at a time the locality was almost deserted,” said a police officer.

The meat shop owner is currently at his native place in Patna, Bihar.

“However, we have asked him to return immediately for interrogation,” said a police officer.

Police said apart from his job in the ECL, Bauri was also a known moneylender in the locality.

“He was involved in money lending and we have come to know that because of this business he had developed enmity with some persons who were not returning his money. We are probing that angle too,” said an investigating officer.

Sources said his family members told the police that Bauri had been receiving threat calls. “We are probing all angles. We have detained two persons so far for interrogations,” said Tathagata Pandey, assistant commissioner of police (central 1).