MUZAFFARNAGAR: A 35-year old man, who was a witness to the murder of his two brothers during the 2013 Muzaffarnagar

, was shot dead here late on Monday night, just two weeks before he was to appear for the next hearing in the ongoing trial.

Two men on a motorcycle opened indiscriminate fire at Ashbab, who worked as a milk vendor, at Muzaffarnagar’s busy Indira Murti stretch on Monday night. He was hit by at least five bullets and died on the spot.

Ashbab’s lawyer Nasir Ali told TOI that his client was getting threats and had even complained to police in February. “All the six accused are out on bail now. Ashbab was the key witness in the case, and its next hearing is on March 25. He was being constantly pressured to reach a compromise. Fearing that he would be killed, Ashbab had even approached police in February and filed a complaint,” Ali said.

‘For me, the riots are still on’

Superintendent of police Satpal Antil said: “The shooters were captured on CCTV cameras. We are screening the footage to identify them.”

Reacting to the killing, Ashbab’s father Akhtar, 65, said: “We used to live in Kheri Tagaan village near Mansoorpur town of Muzaffarnagar. We fled after the riots, leaving everything behind. During the riots, two of my sons — Nawab and Shaheed — were murdered and Ashbab was a witness to that. He was under constant threat.”

After a brief pause, Akhtar added: “For me the riots are still on.” When asked about the motive, he said: “We have no enmity with anyone. I suspect that this murder is connected to the ongoing trial. They killed my two sons and wanted to compromise. Ashbab never agreed to it.” Police have already filed a chargesheet in the case. However, all the six accused were freed on bail during the course of the trial.

SHO Harsharan Sharma said: “A case under Section 302 (murder) of the

has been registered against unidentified people.”

Ashbab was buried on Tuesday after a post-mortem examination.