One of the major accused behind the killing of well-known Patna businessman Gopal Khemka was killed in a police shootout on Tuesday morning, officials reported to the media. The incident occurred in Patna City's Mal Salami area when police teams were trying to arrest the accused. Raja had purportedly provided the gun used for the murder of Khemka and was identified with the shooter Umesh, who is the prime suspect in the case, police said.
Raja had fired when a team had gone to the spot to arrest him, triggering counter-firing in which he was gunned down, police said. A pistol, live cartridges, and spent shells were seized from the site of the encounter, police added. Raja's body has been taken for post-mortem.
"Wanted criminal Vikas alias Raja was shot dead in a police encounter near Damaiya ghat at about 2.45 am. A pistol, a bullet and a cartridge were recovered from the scene. The body has been sent to Nalanda Medical College, Patna, for post-mortem," Bihar Police stated in an official release.
The police action followed a day after Patna Police arrested more than a dozen suspects in Khemka's murder. Interestingly, a suspect, Roshan Kumar, who lives in Punpun in Patna, was arrested after being seen attending the funeral of Khemka on July 6.
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The police are convinced that Khemka's murder was carefully planned and carried out with the assistance of several co-conspirators who included the spotters who monitored the businessman's movements around the time of July 4 evening.
The noted industrialist Khemka was gunned down near his home in the Gandhi Maidan area around 11:40 pm, just after getting out of his vehicle.
The key accused, Umesh, was also apprehended in Patna on Monday, sources added. The confirmation, however, has not been made officially so far. In the meantime, Bihar BJP leader Neeraj Kumar claimed that the shooter was hired by some political individual to kill him.
"The police have arrested the shooter involved in the murder of prominent businessman Gopal Khemka. The shooter, identified as Umesh, was hired by a "political figure" to carry out the murder. Got it? Understand who poses a threat to Bihar?," Kumar wrote on X in Hindi, sharing photos of Gopal Khemka.
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