“I could not find you a hit man,” he said. Only about half of all murders in the United States are cleared or solved each year, according to the F.B.I., making it difficult to say definitively how many people are killed specifically by hit men. While there are also no handy stats on how many murder-for-hire attempts fail, experts and indictments indicate that many are marred by amateurism and ineptitude. “There isn’t a real efficient, high-quality hit service out there like in the movies,” said Michael C. Farkas, a defense attorney who has worked as a New York City homicide prosecutor. That case chilled Canadian and Indian relations, and has cast suspicion on Narendra Modi, India’s conservative prime minister and a Hindu nationalist.

---

Persons: Robert Baer, ”, “, ” Dennis Kenney, ” Mr, Kenney, amateurism, Michael C, Farkas, —, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Narendra Modi Organizations: John Jay College of Criminal Locations: United States, New York City, British Columbia