Patna, July 8 (IANS) An accused linked to the murder of businessman Gopal Khemka was gunned down after an encounter in Bihar capital’s Malsalami locality early Tuesday morning, officials said.

The accused, identified as Vikas Kumar alias Raja, allegedly accompanied the shooter, Umesh Yadav, who was directly involved in Khemka’s murder on Friday night.

Bihar’s Special Task Force (STF) and Malsalami police conducted the raid based on information extracted from Umesh during interrogation.

Earlier, police had arrested Umesh, identified as the main shooter in the case. Preliminary investigations have revealed that Vikas was involved in illegal arms trading in the Malsalami area and had sold the weapon to Umesh that was used in the murder of Khemka.

According to an official, the police team reached Vikas’s house around 2.45 a.m. on Tuesday, where he opened fire on the joint team. The officials of Bihar STF and Malsalami police retaliated. After a brief gunfight, the accused was neutralised.

“So far, we have detained two individuals and arrested the main shooter in the Gopal Khemka case. Our investigation indicates that an individual had taken a contract of Rs 10 lakh to kill Khemka and subcontracted it to Umesh for Rs 1 lakh,” a senior police officer said, adding that further details will be shared as the investigation progresses.

Businessman Gopal Khemka was shot dead in Patna on Friday night, triggering shock and concern among the business community and raising questions about the law and order situation in the state capital.

The high-profile murder case put the Nitish Kumar government in a spot at a time when the ruling coalition of JD(U) and BJP is prepping for the Assembly polls.

The Opposition, the RJD and Congress targeted the state government over Bihar’s law and order situation.

The Chief Minister met top officials after the shocking murder and asked them to complete the probe into the businessman’s murder at the earliest.

–IANS

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