The police claim businessman Ashok Sao paid Umesh Yadav Rs 400,000 to kill Gopal Khemka last Friday.
A week after the sensational killing of Gopal Khemka, a 65-year-old prominent Patna businessman, near his building gate in the heart of Bihar's capital city, the police claimed to have cracked the case after it arrested alleged shooter Umesh Yadav and alleged mastermind Ashok Sao. But the ongoing investigation has a long way to go to ensure that the accumulated evidence and chargesheet stands up in court.
Taking this into consideration the police have sought two days remand of Umesh Yadav and Ashok Sao, who are in judicial custody, from the local court for interrogation.
The police hopes to get the accused on remand by Saturday or Sunday.
A senior police officer revealed that the police investigation has indicated that a land dispute and business rivalry were the reasons behind Khemka's murder.
However, the police have not yet identified the exact plot of land and other disputes that prompted Ashok Sao to hire a shooter to kill Khemka.
"We are searching everything carefully. It is not easy, a challenge for the police to study the records of mobile phone conversations and examine the land documents recovered from Ashok's flat," the police officer explained.
The police have prepared a list of 200 questions for the face to face interrogation if the court grants police remand of the two accused.
Gopal Khemka was shot in the head at point-blank range by a single, helmet-wearing assailant late in the night on July 5 (11.40 pm).
CCTV footage from the scene shows the killer patiently waiting near the gate of Khemka's building for his arrival from the Bankipore Club.
He rushed to Khemka's SUV when it arrived, fired the shot and then fled the scene on a scooter parked nearby. The entire incident unfolded in mere seconds.
Khemka's killing comes seven years after his son Gunjan Khemka, 38 was shot dead in his car outside his factory gate in the Hajipur industrial area in Vaishali district.
Gunjan was the convenor of the state BJP's small industries cell. At the time, both the police and family members linked his killing to a land dispute.
Little has happened since, apart from routine police action and a charge sheet against the suspected accused who are free on bail.
A close family member reveals that Gunjan had purchased a large plot of land (reportedly 14 bighas [1 bigha in Patna = 27,225 square feet) near the Hajipur-Sonepur four-lane highway.
This land significantly increased in value, and a land mafia allegedly eyed a portion close to the road, threatening Gunjan with dire consequences if he did not hand it over.
Police officers had suspected that like Gunjan, Gopal Khemka was also killed by a hired killer in connection with a land dispute.
Under tremendous political pressure, the police arrested Umesh Yadav and Ashok Sao, a builder and businessman, within 72 hours of the killing and produced them before the court which sent them to jail.
Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Karitikay Sharma had said that the initial police investigation established a land dispute and earlier business rivalry between Ashok Sao and Gopal Khemka, but the police probe continues to examine other angles that may have resulted in this killing.
"It seems there was a dispute of not only one plot of land but different plots of land and other issues," said the afore-quoted police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Police officers allege Ashok Sao decided to eliminate Khemka about one-and-a-half months ago.
This, Sao reportedly confessed to the police who arrested from his home in Patna.
He approached Umesh Yadav, a resident of old Patna city, who he had known for nearly 18 months after they first met at a wedding in Biharsharif, the Nalanda district headquarters.
Yadav carried out errands for Sao whenever asked. This time Sao offered him a sum of money if he could hire a contract killer.
Umesh Yadav, 58, once worked as a cable operator and used to distribute electricity through a generator to earn a living.
Yadav was given Rs 50,000 as advance to hire a shooter and was promised Rs 350,000 if the shooter killed the target.
Yadav allegedly approached local shooter Vikas alias Raja who demanded Rs 400,000 for the murderous assignment.
Yadav, who had been reportedly facing a financial crunch for some time, then decided to execute the crime himself and informed Sao, who gave his go ahead, knowing fully that Umesh had no criminal record.
Sao bought a new mobile phone and a SIM card for Yadav and asked him to use it to communicate with him.
Sao also provided him the weapon and cartridges and shared details of the target including Khemka's photo, his residence location, daily activities and exact time of going to the Bankipore club in the evening and returning late in the night.
"Umesh Yadav followed Khemka for days to understand his daily routine. Khemka used to reach the Bankipore club between 8 pm and 8.30 pm and usually left for home between 11 pm and 11.30 pm," the police officer said.
After shooting Khemka, Umesh Yadav went home and slept. The next morning, Sao handed him the Rs 350,000 at J P Ganga Path which is under the Malsalami police station's jurisdiction. Yadav also returned the cell phone to Sao, but retained the SIM.
After repeatedly analysing CCTV footage, the police identified Yadav's getaway scooter and later tracked his location via his mobile phone, that led to his arrest.
The police claim they recovered the weapon used in the crime from a locked room in Yadav's home.
The police repeatedly claimed that Vikas alias Raja was one of the accused in the case. He was killed in an encounter with the police at a deserted brick kiln in the Malsalami area three days after Khemka's murder.
Vikas, in his mid 20s, was reportedly involved in several crimes, reportedly jailed twice and locally known as a shooter.
The police claimed he was killed after he opened fire at the police when he was taken to the brick kiln after his arrest. He had informed the police that he kept weapons at the kiln.
Vikas' mother, who work as a domestic help and lives in a rented hut, claimed her son worked in Chennai and had traveled to Patna to take care of his father who suffers from TB.
'Who will look after us now?' his ailing father told the media. 'If my son was a shooter and a criminal, see how we live. He was killed in a fake encounter by the police but who will raise our issue. We will never get justice.'
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff
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