Khemka killed over land dispute, case solved: Cops

The Bihar police on Tuesday claimed to have solved the murder case of industrialist Gopal Khemka, who was shot dead in a posh Patna locality last week, with the arrest of two accused and the recovery of the firearm used in the crime, blaming the killing on a land deal that went awry.

- Avinash Kumar

While the police arrested alleged shooter Umesh Yadav (52) and conspirator Ashok Sao (65), a third accused, Vikas alias Raja (20), who was suspected to have supplied the weapon used in the crime, was gunned down in an encounter with police personnel in Patna in the early hours on Tuesday, an officer said.

Addressing a press conference at the police headquarters in Patna, director general of police (DGP) Vinay Kumar said the Special Task Force (STF) and Patna police tracked Yadav with the help of CCTV footage and nabbed him from his house by identifying his motorcycle parked outside.

“During interrogation, Yadav admitted that he shot Khemka after receiving a ₹24-lakh contract for killing the businessman from Ashok Sao. He got ₹50,000 in advance and the remaining ₹3.5 lakh was paid to him by Sao on JP Ganga Path under Malsalami police station area at 8 am [July 5], barely nine hours after the murder,” the DGP said.

The firearm used to shoot at Khemka has been recovered from a hideout of the shooter, he said. Based on Yadav’s statement, police recovered 56 cartridges of 7.62 mm and 9 mm pistol, two magazines and 14 bullets from his brother’s room on the first floor of his house, as well as ₹3.65 lakh from his own room, the top officer added.