Key suspect in industrialist Gopal Khemka's murder killed in gunfight with police in Patna
Patna (PTI): A key suspect in the murder of industrialist Gopal Khemka was killed in a gunfight with the police in Patna's Damaria Ghat area in the early hours of Tuesday, officials said.
Vikas alias Raja (29), the suspect, was wanted in several other criminal cases as well, they said.
Acting on a tip-off, the team of officers probing the murder case reached Damaria Ghat around 2.25 am in search of Vikas, an official said.
"On spotting the police personnel, he tried to escape and also opened fire. The officers retaliated, and he was killed," the police official said.
No police personnel sustained any injury, he added.
A pistol, a spent and a live cartridge were recovered from the spot, the official said.
"It is suspected that Vikas, a resident of Malslami locality of the city, provided the weapon that was used in the murder of Khemka," he said.
Police have already arrested the gunman, identified as Umesh Rai, and detained another person who is suspected of hiring the contract killer.
"The contract killer was arrested in Patna. The investigation is in progress. We will share more details in due course," said the official.
Khemka was shot dead outside his residence in the city's Gandhi Maidan locality on Friday morning. Seven years ago, his son was killed in Hajipur.
The ruling JD(U) hailed the police and stated that with Nitish Kumar as the chief minister, no criminal will be spared.
"Bihar Police have made a major breakthrough and almost cracked the case. The contract killer has been arrested, and another accused was killed in a police encounter. Police have done a commendable job," JD(U)'s national spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad said.
"I must tell the opposition that in the rule of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, those found indulging in criminal activities will not be spared at any cost. The CM monitors every incident," he added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
