Ranchi Restaurant Employee Shot Dead: Police Investigate CCTV Footage, Gang Link Suspected

Ranchi: An employee of a restaurant in Lodhma area of the city was shot dead on Saturday evening, police said on Sunday.The victim has been identified as Manish Gope (25).Pankaj Sharma, in-charge of Airport police station, said, “We are analysing the CCTV footage to identify the assailants. The motive behind the incident is not clear yet, and can only be ascertained once the accused are caught.”A purported CCTV footage of the restaurant circulating on social media shows an assailant, wearing a helmet, entering the restaurant and firing at the employee, while another waiting outside. The two fled the scene after the attack.According to sources, the restaurant owner, Raj Kumar Gope, had got a call in Dec 2025 where the caller demanded Rs 1 crore from him in the name of Prince Khan gang.However, the police officer declined to comment on the claim, adding, “All relevant details will be revealed after the criminals are nabbed.”Ranchi BJP MP Sanjay Seth criticised the state govt over the incident, saying, “Is jungleraj (lawlessness) coming back to Jharkhand like it happened in Bihar under Lalu Yadav? The JMM-Cong govt must learn to maintain law and order from Yogi Adityanath.”Jharkhand state Congress committee general secretary Alok Kumar Dubey advised the MP to go through the NCRB report to draw a comparison of crime rates in BJP-ruled states and other states in the country.“We are not supporting the recent incident. But whenever such an incident takes place, Jharkhand police promptly investigates the incident in a short span of time. We do not have to take lessons from Yogi; our police officers are competent enough,” Dubey added.