Police personnel stand guard at the site after a key suspect in the murder of industrialist Gopal Khemka was killed in a gunfight with the police
Credit: PTI Photo
Patna: A key suspect in the murder of businessman Gopal Khemka was killed in a police encounter in the wee hours of Tuesday here in the State Capital. Khemka was shot dead on Friday by the hired goons at the entrance gate of his house near Gandhi Maidan after he was returning from Bankipore Club.
The suspect Vikas is believed to have supplied weapons to Umesh Rai, who shot the industrialist from point-blank range at 11.30 pm on Friday and fled on a two-wheeler.
The killing had evoked all-round criticism of the Nitish regime, with even Rahul Gandhi slamming the Bihar Chief Minister on the growing lawlessness in Bihar in general and Patna in particular.
In the latest incident, Nitish himself took stock of the situation, visited the police headquarters and told the top cops that those guilty in the murder case should not be spared.
The top brass constituted a Special Investigating Team (SIT) and with the help of STF (Special Task Force) personnel first nabbed the gunman Umesh Rai and then traced Vikas who provided him the pistol for carrying out the killing.
“On spotting the police, Vikas tried to escape. While fleeing, he fired on the cops. The police officers retaliated and Vikas was killed. A pistol, a spent and a live cartridge were recovered from the spot,” said the Bihar Police.
Yogi Model at work?
Of late, Bihar BJP leaders had been demanding to implement the Yogi model (police encounter) in Bihar to check the rising crime graph in the State. Incidentally, the industrialist Khemka was reportedly associated with the BJP and the two Deputy Chief Ministers of Bihar – Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Sinha , both from the BJP, were quick to visit Khemka’s residence to offer their condolences. Notably, Khemka’s son too was shot dead in 2018.
“The Patna police have done a commendable job by arresting a suspect and killing another in the police encounter. The Opposition should know that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar himself monitors every major incident. And those found involved in any criminal activity are not spared in his regime,” said JD (U) national spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad.