The West Bengal government has handed over the investigation of real estate developer Safiq Khan's murder to the CID after the family raised concerns about the lack of progress in the case.
The West Bengal government on Friday transferred the investigation into the murder of real estate developer Safiq Khan from the Howrah City Police to the state CID, an official said.
The probe transfer followed an appeal from members of the victim's family, who expressed reservations about no arrests being made by the local Golabari police station in connection with the crime despite more than 48 hours having passed, he added.
Shafiq was shot dead by assailants at point-blank range in full public view in the early hours of Wednesday in Pilkhana area of north Howrah.
Chilling visuals of the incident, which were caught on CCTV cameras, showed the victim having a verbal exchange in front of a tea stall with one of his attackers and then collapsing after being shot in the head and chest repeatedly by two assailants.
The prime suspects of the crime, Harun Khan, a suspected Afghan national and Rafakat alias Rohit, continue to remain at large after fleeing the crime scene, which is no more than a kilometre away from the local police station and a few kilometres from the commissionerate headquarters.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that Safiq and Harun were friends who turned bitter business rivals and that both had a history of indulging in anti-social activities.