A fugitive involved in the cross-border cattle smuggling case now under probe by various Central investigating agencies was accompanying slain coal mafia Rakesh Jha when the latter’s vehicle was attacked last night, according to police sources.

The fugitive, however, disappeared from the scene immediately after the attack on the NH-19 here last evening.

Jha and his close aide Bratin Mukherjee were heading for Kolkata in a white SUV (No: WB 48D/7032) and the vehicle had halted at the confectioner’s hub at Shaktigarh briefly, as Bratin reportedly needed some refreshments.

The vehicle’s registration details indicate its owner was Abdul Latif Sheikh of Birbhum, a person who had been absconding after the CBI charge-sheeted him in the cattle smuggling case.

Sheikh is also close to Anubrata Mondal, the TMC leader now arrested in cattle smuggling case.

It may be recalled that Anubrata Mondal, while being taken from Asansol to Kolkata to be flown to New Delhi, had also halted at Shaktigarh and had met a few of his aides from Birbhum which had triggered off a controversy At large since the investigations by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate began, Sheikh however was desperately trying to find some way to get off the hook, Jha is said to have promised to manage this for him They both were involved in some new ‘business venture’, a section of officials in West Burdwan said. Sheikh, the officials, said was accordingly frequenting Jha’s place. Jha was scheduled to appear before the Enforcement Directorate in Kolkata on 3 April and Sheikh agreed to accompany him and arrived Jha’s palatial hotel at City Centre in Durgapur yesterday. At 6:35 p.m, Jha and Bratin accompanied by Sheikh left the hotel for Kolkata.

The police have gathered CCTV footages from Jha’s hotel today and one CCTV grab collected from the Banskopa toll plaza on the NH-19, according to the police, showed Sheikh sitting in the same vehicle, police sources said.

But the same Sheikh disappeared after the Shaktigarh attack.

The CCTV footage gathered from the shops there shows one person and the SUV driver Noor Hossen getting down from the vehicle. Shortly, a blue-coloured car arrived and two persons got down and started raining bullets at Jha, who was sitting beside the driver’s seat killing him instantly.

Bratin suffered minor splinter injuries.

The police meanwhile seized the car abandoned by the assailants near Shaktigarh Railway Station about 300 metres away from the place of occurrence.

Empty liquor bottles, some forged registration plates were recovered from inside the car.

The SP, East Burdwan, Kamanashis Sen, said: “We’ve gathered several inputs but we’re yet to ascertain the actual motive behind the shootout and murder.”

The district police, headed by the SP, Sen has set up a 12 members Special Investigation Team to investigate the incident. Two Forensic experts have also been pressed into operation.