A local JMM leader was shot dead on Monday by unidentified gunmen in his residence at Bhatmurna More, about 22 km from Dhanbad town in Jharkhand, the police said.
The leader, Akshya Lal Chauhan, was reading a newspaper at home when three motor-cycle borne men gunned him down,
Sub-divisional Police Officer Sanjiv Kumar told reporters.
The police suspect the hand of the coal mafia in the killing as Chauhan had raised concerns on coal theft.