Ghaziabad (UP), Aug 18 (PTI) A 32-year-old construction material trader was shot dead outside his store allegedly by two bike-borne assailants in Loni Border police station area here on Wednesday night, police said.

Ghaziabad Senior Superintendent of Police Pawan Kumar told PTI that the trader identified as Dharmendra (32), a resident of Jawahar Nagar of Loni area, was rushed to GTB Hospital in Shahdara where he was further referred to Max Hospital, Delhi but he succumbed to his bullet wounds.

Also Read | Muharram 2021 Holiday Date in Different States: From Maharashtra to Chhattisgarh, Know When State Govts Have Declared Muharram Holiday.

Dharmendra was sitting at his shop situated at Behta Nehar road and noting down his daily transactions. At the time, two youths arrived at his store and were conversing with Dharmendra. One of the two youths suddenly pulled out a country-made pistol and shot at Dharmendra from point-blank range and escaped from the spot.

Some acquaintances who were sitting there tried to catch hold of both of them but the duo fled away on their motorcycle.

Also Read | Urmila Matondkar Lauds Supreme Court’s Decision to Allow Women to Take NDA Exam.

Loni Border police have detained Dharmendra's clerk as initial investigations showed that around four to five days ago, the now deceased man had slapped the son of his clerk, the SSP said.

In another incident, a photocopy shop owner allegedly shot himself dead using a country-made pistol around 9 pm on Wednesday in Sahibabad area, police said.

At the time of the incident, Mukesh Jha (40) was drinking with his friend Iqbal.

It is yet to be ascertained whether Jha died by suicide or he was shot dead by his companions, SSP Kumar said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)