The Raipur police, which has so far failed to make any breakthrough in the case of NCP leader Ram Avtar Jaggi’s murder, now suspects it to be a case of contract killing. Yesterday, it sent a police party to Jabalpur in MP in search of a professional shooter suspected to be involved in the killing.The police also sent Vishwa Nath, a suspect in the murder of another Raipur businessman Mohinder Jain, along with the team to help in the search.Initially, the police had suspected Nath’s hand in the killing but his interrogations failed to yield any results pointing to his involvement. They then decided to take his help instead in the hunt for contract killers who used to frequent Raipur when it was part of an undivided MP.Police have already visited Bihar, Jharkhand, parts of MP and Maharashtra, interrogated 300 people and taken 100 into preventive custody, but over two weeks after the murder, they are still unable to crack the case.Senior Superintendent of Police Mukesh Gupta admits that the police are still clueless about the identity of the killers. ‘‘We have plenty of clues but nothing specific so far,’’ he says.With no progress in the investigations, the NCP leader’s family is losing patience. Blaming police for not doing their job sincerely, Jaggi’s son Satish says: ‘‘Police are just groping in the dark, wasting time. They know who the real culprits are, but lack the guts to arrest them.’’ Satish also claims that his family has been receiving constant threats against naming the suspects.Satish had earlier named Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi and son Amit in the FIR. But a day later, the police cancelled the FIR, declaring it ‘‘null and void’’, and said it was registered under pressure from NCP leader V.C. Shukla.
