Noida techie shot dead

GHAZIABAD: In a gruesome incident that left local residents stunned, Ajay Chowdhary, a 28-year-old electronic data processing executive of a Noida firm was shot dead by two unidentified motorcycle-borne killers at around 9.30 pm on Sunday. As many as four bullets were fired into the executive's head by the assailants who then escaped on their motorcycles. The neighbours of the victim rushed him to Yashoda Hospital bleeding profusely. Said a police official: "There was no way he could have survived after being shot four times, and that too in the head. He was declared brought dead at the hospital. The area police immediately ordered strict checking at all police posts to nab the escaping culprits. However, no immediate headway could be made, although some vital leads have been obtained. We are investigating reports that a private security guard posted at his company could have had something to do with the murder. The victim had repeatedly, for some reason, requested that the guard be dismissed." The victim is survived by his wife and a two-year-old daughter. According to sources, Chowdhary lived in Sanjay Nagar's J Block and worked as a data processing executive at a garments designing and export firm in Phase II, Noida. On Sunday, after he returned home from work, he parked his Maruti Esteem car at his house, and then still standing outside, he started talking with somebody on his mobile phone. Suddenly, two men rode up on motorcycles and fired four shots into his head from point blank range. Then, the duo rode away, brandishing the pistols to deter any pursuit. A young resident of the area, who did not wished to be named, said: "I heard the shots, which sounded like loud crackers, fired in quick succession. Later I realized these were bullets." He added that some people in the neighborhood had recently been scolded by Chowdhary for switching off street lights. District police chief Deepak Ratan, said a minor provocation did not appear to have been the motive. "Somebody had to hate him enough to murder him so brutall," he said.