Chandigarh, Jul 19 (IANS): A scrap dealer was shot dead and his friend injured when four unidentified men on motorcycles shot at them in a busy market area, police here said Tuesday.

Rajesh Dhingra, aka Kala, 35, who had several criminal cases filed against him, was killed Monday night at Mauli Jagran on the outskirts of this city. His friend Surinder, an auto-rickshaw driver, also sustained bullet injuries and has been admitted to a government hospital.

"It seems to be a case of personal rivalry and old enmity. Kala was sitting outside his shop in Mauli Jagran at around 9.50 p.m. when he was attacked by four motorcycle borne youths. They shot at his chest from close range. When he tried to escape, they shot him on his back," said a police official.

"Kala was immediately taken to a hospital but was declared brought dead by the doctors. Another youth Surinder, in early 20s, also sustained bullet injuries and is admitted in hospital," he added.

Though nobody has been arrested, police are closing in on the assailants. "They were in their early 20s and hailed from a rural area of Haryana. We are conducting raids at various places and will arrest them very soon," the official said.

Cases of murder, attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy had been registered against Kala in different police stations of Chandigarh and Punjab.

Heavy police force was deployed in the area to keep the situation under control and avoid any kind of public outburst.