LUCKNOW, Feb. 14 -- Shoaib Qidwai alias Bobby, a 50-year-old lawyer described by police as a close aide of late gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, was shot dead in broad daylight on the busy Lucknow-Ayodhya highway in Barabanki on Friday afternoon, police said. His bullet-riddled body was found on the driver's seat of his car, they added. According to police, Shoaib was driving his car alone when unidentified assailants intercepted the vehicle near Asaini turn under Nagar Kotwali police station limits around 1.30 pm. The attackers allegedly surrounded the car and opened indiscriminate fire from the front and side, killing him on the spot. Additional director general of police, Lucknow zone, Praveen Kumar said preliminary examination of the crime scene suggested a coordinated assault. "The car had moved about 100 metres off the highway when the attack took place. So far, no eyewitness or CCTV footage has surfaced," Kumar said. "The manner of firing indicates the vehicle was surrounded and targeted from multiple directions. The post-mortem examination could ascertain the number of bullet wounds he suffered," he added. Kumar further said Shoaib usually did not travel alone. "It is surprising that he was alone at the time of the incident. The role of his close associates is also under scrutiny," the ADG said, adding that multiple police teams have been deployed to crack the case. Investigators said nearly 15 rounds were fired. More than five empty cartridges were recovered from the spot. The shooting, carried out amid regular highway traffic, triggered panic as passers-by reported hearing a rapid burst of gunfire that brought vehicles to a halt. Forensic teams and senior officers examined the scene, while Naka checking was intensified across the district to trace the attackers. The body had been sent for a post-mortem examination and its report was awaited till the time of report filing....