SIT to probe murder of prominent Patna-based businessman Gopal Khemka

Patna, July 5 (IANS) Hours after the murder of Gopal Khemka in Patna late on Friday night, Bihar DGP Vinay Kumar told IANS that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been set up under the leadership of the city SP to probe the murder of the prominent businessman.

He also stated that the STF has been involved in the bid to nab the killers of Khemka.

DGP Vinay Kumar added that on the face of it the murder seems to be the fallout of a property dispute.

There is shock and outrage in Bihar as Gopal Khemka, owner of Magadh Hospital and Director of Bankipore Club, was gunned down in Patna late on Friday night, in an incident eerily similar to the 2018 deadly attack on his son.

The incident occurred around 11:40 P.M. near Panache Hotel in the Gandhi Maidan area, one of Patna’s posh localities.

Khemka was stepping out of his car near his residence when unidentified bike-borne assailants opened fire at him.

Khemka’s brother, Shankar Khemka, alleged police inaction, claiming: “Officers arrived nearly three hours after the incident, at around 2:30 A.M.”

Shankar stated that Gopal Khemka was returning home when the assailants opened fire at him, mirroring the manner in which Khemka’s son Gunjan was attacked in 2018 in Vaishali while stepping out of his car near his cotton factory.

With Bihar Assembly elections just months away, the incident has triggered political outrage, with Purnea MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav visiting the family and questioning Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's claims of good governance.

Patna’s City SP (Central) Diksha Kumari stated: “On the night of July 4, around 11.40 P.M., we received information that businessman Gopal Khemka was shot dead near Gandhi Maidan. The crime scene has been secured, and the investigation is underway. The FSL team was called to collect the evidence. Khemka received one gunshot injury. We have recovered spent bullets from the crime scene, and CCTV footage from the area is being reviewed for clues.”

In 2018, Gunjan Khemka, 38, was gunned down in a similar manner by bike-borne assailants while stepping out of his car near his cotton factory in Vaishali, on Patna’s outskirts, in a case that remains unsolved till this day.

The attack on Khemka, a well-known figure in Bihar’s business community, raises fresh questions about law and order in Patna ahead of elections.

It also adds to concerns over the safety of prominent citizens amid rising crime incidents in the state's capital.

This latest murder is expected to snowball into a major controversy and could become a key talking point for the Opposition in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections to corner the Nitish Kumar government on the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.

--IANS

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