The incident took place on the Turkadih bypass under Sakri police station limits, said Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Rajendra Jaiswal.
The assistants opened indiscriminate fire at Sanju Tripathi, a resident of Bilaspur, at around 4:15 pm when he was travelling in a four-wheeler, said the ASP, adding the victim died on the spot.
Twenty-seven criminal cases were pending against the deceased, he said.
On being informed about the firing incident, a police team accompanied by senior officials rushed to the spot, said Jaiswal and added an extensive search was launched to nab the unidentified assailants.
Bilaspur District Congress Committee president Vijay Kesharwani said as per his information Tripathi was once active in the Youth Congress, but he was not holding any post in the party at present.
