Machinist shot dead at Dadar flower market

MUMBAI: A repairer of weighing scales was shot dead outside the Dadar flower market early morning on Friday. Police said the motive could be business rivalry.
The incident occurred around 6.45am. Minutes before, Manoj Mourya (35) had left his flat in Sai Siddhi SRA Building, Dadar, telling his wife Bhavna that he was going to deliver a repaired machine to a client.
"He was walking with the machine and a haversack on his back. Just as he was passing by the flower market on Senapati Bapat Marg, he was shot in the back at close range," said senior inspector Divakar Shelke of Dadar police station. The police have learnt that before Mourya left home, someone called him on his cellphone to ask him to reach a particular place. "Locals said he used to charge less than the market rate for servicing weighing scales, and this could have angered rivals," an officer said.
Though the area outside the flower market starts getting crowded with vendors and truck drivers right from daybreak, the police said they were able to find only one eyewitness. "This person said he heard a loud sound, somewhat like that of a tyre-burst. He said he rushed over to the spot, only to find a man (Mourya) lying in a pool of blood," said an officer. A beat police constable, who was nearby, was the next to reach the spot.
The police took Mourya to KEM hospital, Parel, where he was declared dead. "From a preliminary examination of the body, it appears that a single bullet was shot," an officer said.
The police checked footage from nearby CCTV cameras. Though they could not find footage of the shooting, a CCTV camera at a nearby building caught a man following Mourya, "looking here and there very suspiciously", said a crime branch officer. "A few seconds later, he reappears in the footage. This time he can be seen running back, facing the camera. The images are blurred, but we are trying to establish his identity. We don't know yet if he is the shooter or just another person who walked in the same direction as Mourya, but upon seeing him being shot, ran back out of shock."
Mourya's older brother Sanjay, a cab driver, was nearby at the time of the incident. Seeing a crowd gather at a distance, he reached the spot, only to find his brother in a pool of blood. Mourya's mother, Kalavathi, said her son didn't have any rivalry with anybody. His friends told the police he was short-tempered. He is survived by wife, an eight-year-old son, and parents.
The police are waiting for the ballistic report to gauge the type of gun used in the crime. The police are also looking at Mourya's call detail record (CDR). The crime branch is questioning some of his friends and acquaintances.