Pune: Two motorcycle-borne men shot dead a worker (39) at a water filter plant in Karegaon in Shirur taluka around 6:30 am on Tuesday.The Pune Rural police identified the deceased as Hamja Usman Shaikh, who was residing in Karegaon and hailed from Parbhani district. The police have also been investigating the motive behind the killing.“We have formed teams to trace the assailants. Shaikh had been working at the plant for the last six months and resided near the facility,” said Kumar Kadam, inspector of Ranjangaon MIDC police.Around 6:15 am on Tuesday, Shaikh arrived at the plant. Soon after, a woman noticed him lying on the premises and alerted his wife. The family initially thought that he might have slipped and took him to a nearby hospital, Kadam said.“Doctors declared him dead. We received a call from the hospital, and our team reached there to examine the body,” Kadam said.“We found the wounds suspicious. There were two wounds on the head—one entry and one exit—indicating that he had been shot,” the officer said.Kadam said police also found an empty cartridge on the premises of the water filter plant. Some residents also said they heard a sound resembling a firecracker around 6:30 am, Kadam said.“We then checked the CCTV footage and found two motorcycle-borne men were near the plant. The pillion rider shot Shaikh when he was starting the plant and fled,” Kadam said.The officer said Shaikh had no previous criminal record. His family members and neighbours described him as a gentleman. “Our investigation is underway,” the officer said.
