Mumbai, June 12 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan Sunday convened a high-level meeting to review the probe into the killing of veteran journalist Jyotirmoy Dey, who was gunned down apparently by the underworld a day ago, an official said.

Chavan ordered the police and crime branch to carry out the investigations at a fast pace and make attempts to book the culprits at the earliest possible date.

"The chief minister has ordered the police and crime branch sleuths to complete the probe as fast as possible and nab the culprits responsible for the killing," the official told IANS.

Chavan has also directed that a special squad of investigators be formed and probe the case from all possible angles.

He also ordered security for the family members of the slain journalist and extension of necessary financial relief.

The meeting was attended by state Home Minister R.R. Patil, Mumbai Police chief Arup Patnaik, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Himanshu Roy and Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Rajnish Seth.

Dey was shot dead by four unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants as he travelled on his motorcycle near his residence in the Powai area of northeast Mumbai Saturday afternoon just before 3 p.m.

Hundreds of people from different walks of life bid adieu to Dey as his body was cremated Sunday afternoon at Rajawadi crematorium in Ghatkopar.

Though the police have yet to make headway in cracking the case, they have recovered vital clues on the killers from the footage of a CCTV installed in the Crisil Building in Powai.

The brazen daylight killing has been condemned by all and the state government has assured that it would nab the culprits at the earliest.

Dey was Mid-Day's Editor (Special Investigations) and had covered the mafia extensively for over two decades. He had done many reports on Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Rajan, the fugitive underworld dons of Mumbai.