Gopal Khemka murder—‘Weapon supplier’ killed in encounter; cops nab shooter, businessman who ‘hired’ him

Cops want to examine Khemka’s laptop, mobile phone to establish business rivalry angle, but the family is unwilling to share his digital devices.

Police personnel at crime scene 4 July after businessman Gopal Khemka was shot dead near his residence in Patna | ANI

New Delhi: A suspect in the sensational Gopal Khemka murder case was killed in an early morning encounter Tuesday with the Patna Police who also arrested a businessman and a shooter who executed the killing allegedly on his order.

The suspected businessman, Ashok Kumar Sao, was taken into custody based on Umesh’s claim that he hired him to kill Khemka for Rs 4 lakh, a senior Bihar Police officer said, requesting anonymity.

Police officers have described Sao as a “shady” businessman.

Waiting to enter his residence in a prime location in Patna, Khemka was shot from close range by the shooter at around 11:38 pm Friday. In the CCTV footage, the alleged killer, now identified as Umesh, was seen waiting for Khemka to arrive at the entrance gate before pumping a bullet into his head. The businessman was declared dead on arrival.

During investigation, when a team of the Patna Police went to raid the residence of a notorious criminal named Vikas alias Raja, he allegedly fired upon them, leading to an encounter. Raja was killed in the exchange of fire around 2.45 am on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday.

“Vikas had provided a weapon to Umesh that was used in the murder,” a police officer said.

ThePrint earlier reported that the police investigation had strong suspicion about the murder being executed as a contract killing, and business rivalry being the foremost reason behind it.

Police officers privy to the investigation suggest that a rivalry between Sao and Khemka is the factor behind the former hatching a conspiracy, but the exact nature of the rivalry remains to be established. For that, officials said, they need to examine Khemka’s mobile phone and laptop, which his family is reluctant to share with investigators.

“The shooter has confessed to having received money from Sao to carry out the killing, and even money has been recovered from him. The case appears to be borne out of rivalry, but the exact nature needs to be established, which requires examining electronic evidence and devices used by Khemka. However, the family is reluctant to share those. A notice could be sent to them to cooperate with the investigation,” an officer said, requesting anonymity.

Sao’s name also cropped up during the investigation of a more than two-decade-old murder of another Patna-based businessman, Manoj Kamalia. He was killed by shooters on an April morning in 2002 when he was going to Hitaishi Library near Mangal Talab in the city to play badminton.

“During searches at his residence, a lot of documents were recovered related to land dealings, financial transactions and forged documents. All of those documents are yet to be examined,” another police officer said.

(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)