You would appreciate that the disclosure.has exposed me to undesirable pressure and threats,’’ reads a note left behind by the 30-year-old IIT-Kanpur engineer who was shot dead yesterday in the neighbouring Gaya town in Bihar. Today, the body of Satendra Kumar Dubey — National Highway Authority of India’s Gaya unit in-charge — was cremated at his hometown in Siwan. During his posting at Koderma, while the construction of the 180-km highway between Aurangabad and Barwadda was on under the Golden Quadrilateral project, Dubey had reportedly ruffled many a feather. ‘‘He was honest to the core. Vested interests and the corrupt had ganged up against him because he wanted the work done as per the government specifications,’’ said an accountant requesting anonymity. Dubey’s younger brother Dhananjay told Gaya SP Sanjay Singh: ‘‘He would get very upset. But he always said he will not tolerate any hanky-panky.’’ Police inspected Dubey’s house and seized a sheet of paper carrying Dubey’s undated and unsigned note this morning. ‘‘At the moment, we are working on two possibilities: Murder after loot of his belongings (suitcase containing dress material and a mobile phone) or conspiracy leading to murder,’’ Singh said. Asked if police had come across any other documentary evidence corroborating murder conspiracy, Singh said: ‘‘We have seized documents showing he never took lightly his unceremonious transfer from Koderma to Gaya. Complaining against it, he had even written to the NHAI’s chairman and the PM.’’ No arrest has been made yet. If the NHAI’s New Delhi-based General Manager Ashok Kumar is to be believed, Dubey was promoted to the rank of Dy General Manager on Oct 31. ‘‘I don’t know much about his case as I have taken charge recently,’’ Kumar said.
