Every evening, Patna-based businessman Gopal Khemka followed a familiar routine. Around 8 pm, he would leave his home at Kataruka Niwas, nestled between Hotel Panache and Hotel Maurya in the upscale South Gandhi Maidan area, and drive 1.8 kilometres to the Bankipur Club. A director and former secretary of the social club, Khemka spent late evenings with friends, dropping a companion at Bakarganj More before returning home by 11 pm.
On July 4, the routine unfolded as usual until he pulled his brown Hyundai i20 Elite up to the closed gates of Kataruka Niwas. As he honked for the guard, a helmeted man on a bike weaved through parked cars, stopped beside Khemka’s window, and fired a single shot. The night’s silence shattered. Khemka’s son and daughter-in-law rushed from their sixth-floor apartment to find him in a pool of blood. He was rushed to Mediversal Multi Super Specialty Hospital in Kankarbagh, where the 64-year-old was declared dead.
The Patna police, alerted by the hospital, first headed there and subsequently to the crime scene, where a bullet and a shell casing were found.
On July 7, police arrested the alleged shooter, Umesh Yadav, at his home. “Using CCTV footage and technical analysis, we traced the bike’s route to Yadav’s residence,” said Patna SSP Kartikeya Sharma. The bike’s number plate had been tampered with, but a search led to the recovery of the clothes, shoes, and mask he wore. “Under strict interrogation, Yadav confessed to the crime,” Sharma said. “He revealed the gun was hidden at his brother’s flat upstairs. We recovered the weapon, two magazines with 14 rounds, and 59 additional rounds of ammunition.”
Police personnel stand guard at the site after a key suspect in the murder of Gopal Khemka was killed, in Patna’s Damaria Ghat area on Tuesday. (Photo: PTI)
Yadav named Patna businessman Ashok Sao as the alleged mastermind, claiming that Sao hired him as a contract killer. Sao has also been arrested. “They met a year and a half ago at a wedding in Bihar Sharif,” Sharma said. “Yadav had been running small errands for Sao since. About six weeks ago, they allegedly started planning Khemka’s killing.”
“Sao admitted their (his and Khemka’s) business relationship soured over a land dispute,” Sharma said.
Initially, Yadav was tasked with finding a shooter and weapon, receiving a Rs 50,000 advance with a promise of Rs. 3.5 lakh more. However, another suspect in the case, Vikas alias Raja, demanded more money, after which Yadav took the job himself. “Sao allegedly provided the gun and briefed Yadav on Khemka’s Bankipur Club routine,” Sharma said.
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On July 4, Yadav scouted the club, followed Khemka’s car, and shot him at his gate, knowing his vehicle and registration number.
The next day, as mourners gathered at Khemka’s office to pay respects, Yadav met Sao at JP Ganga Path to collect the remaining Rs 3.5 lakh. “Sao had bought a phone and SIM in Yadav’s name,” Sharma said. “Yadav returned the phone but kept the SIM.” A raid on Sao’s home uncovered land documents, arms, ammunition, and Rs 6.5 lakh in cash, while Rs 3.65 lakh was found at Yadav’s home.
Bihar Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha with the family of businessman Gopal Khemka. (Photo: PTI)
Bihar DGP Vinay Kumar added, “Since a lot of land-related documents have been recovered from Sao’s home, we are investigating which exact plot led to the dispute between him and Khemka. We will be investigating the devices of the accused and the victim. As per the primary investigation, we have found call records indicating land disputes between the two. We will be matching the voices in the calls.”
Bihar ADG Kundan Krishnan said, “We have solid evidence against the shooter for murdering Khemka and Sao for commissioning it.”
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Krishnan also said Sao’s name has come up in a few other cases in the past, and he has been questioned by the police earlier, too.
On whether there is a link between Khemka’s murder and the killing of his son, Gunjan, in 2018, DGP Kumar said four people had been arrested in that case. “The chargesheet was submitted. Gopal Khemka was the complainant. A hearing was conducted in 2022, and the second hearing is scheduled for July 15, 2025. The main shooter in the incident has been murdered, and so has the complainant (Khemka). We will investigate to find out if there’s any link.”
Gopal Khemka was a prominent figure in Patna’s business community.
Another suspect in Khemka’s murder, Vikas, was meanwhile shot dead in a police encounter on early Tuesday morning. Patna IG Jitendra Rana said, “Vikas was involved in other cases of murder and shooting, and his history showed that he supplied illegal arms and ammunition for such incidents. His name also came in connection with this case, and we got informed of a weapon with him by the shooter (Umesh). While a police team went to raid his residence, he opened fire, and in self-defence, the police returned fire, resulting in his death.”
The police said they had recovered a pistol and cartridges from the scene.
