India, Jan. 28 -- In yet another brazen targeted killing linked to extortion syndicates, a 45-year-old chemist was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Punjab's border town of Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district on Wednesday morning.

The victim, Ranbir Singh Bedi, ran a medical store in the town's main market. According to eyewitnesses, the incident occurred around 8am just as Bedi was opening his shop. Two motorcycle-borne men arrived at the spot and opened fire at point-blank range before fleeing.

Local residents rushed Bedi to a nearby hospital, but he succumbed to bullet wounds to the head shortly after.

Batala senior superintendent of police (SSP) Mehtab Singh, who visited the crime scene with forensic teams, confirmed that f...