"Saddened; accused should be caught and not spared": BJP's Ravishankar Prasad on Patna businessman murder

Patna (Bihar) [India], July 5 (ANI): BJP leader Ravishankar Prasad on Saturday said he was "saddened" over the murder of businessman Gopal Khemka in Patna, stressing that he has issued instructions to the concerned authorities to take stringent action and bring the accused to justice.
Speaking to ANI over the incident, Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "I have personally spoken to the SSP and the District Magistrate, and I have also spoken to the Deputy Chief Minister. The formation of an SIT has been announced. I am saddened by this incident; it is my area, and he was a prominent citizen of this area and a good businessman."
"I have firmly told the administration and police. Since the SIT has been formed, action should be taken quickly. The accused should be caught and not spared. If there is any negligence on the part of the police administration, it should be investigated, and action should be taken," he added.
Following the murder of prominent businessman Gopal Khemka, Bihar Director General of Police (DGP) Vinay Kumar said on Saturday that multiple angles are being probed and several police teams, including from Vaishali and Patna, are actively investigating the matter.
Patna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kartikeya K Sharma confirmed the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and ongoing raids, including inside Beur Jail, to trace possible leads.
Speaking to ANI, Bihar DGP Vinay Kumar said, "Investigation is ongoing and many dimensions are being investigated. Many teams are working on it. Vaishali police are also working on it, as in 2018, Gopal Khemka's son, Gunjan Khemka, was murdered there, and Vaishali police are investigating if there is any link... CCTV footage is being reviewed, which shows a perpetrator retreating after the incident."
"As soon as we received the information, the police took swift action. We received the information with some delay, and we are also investigating whether the information was received earlier and if there has been any delay on anyone's part," the DGP added.
Patna SSP Kartikeya K Sharma also spoke to ANI and said, "We have got many inputs from the CCTV cameras and our sources. SIT has been formed and it's working... An investigation is going on... A raid is ongoing in Beur jail, and if there is any link, things will come out."
Earlier in the day, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday chaired a review meeting with Director General of Police (DGP) Vinay Kumar and other senior officials to assess the law and order situation in the state in the wake of the murder of businessman Gopal Khemka in Patna.
In a post on social media platform X, the Chief Minister stated that law and order was the government's topmost priority, further stating that criminals in the state would not be spared at any cost.
"Held a review meeting on law and order with the Director General of Police and other senior police officials at 'Sankalp'. Law and order is the government's topmost priority. No matter who the criminals are, they will not be spared at any cost," the post read.
Kumar further stated that police and administration in the state had been instructed to work with full preparedness and strictness."Directed to expedite the investigation of criminal incidents and take swift action against the guilty. Instructed the police and administration to work with full preparedness and strictness to maintain law and order," the post read.
Meanwhile, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav alleged that hundreds of businessmen were being killed in Bihar, but it couldn't be called "Jungle Raj.
"Yadav, a former Deputy Chief Minister, also raised questions over the law and order situation and said, "A few steps away from the police station in Patna, a prominent Bihar businessman was shot dead!"
"Hundreds of businessmen are being murdered in Bihar every month, but we can't call it jungle raj? Because this is what the scriptures call media management, perception management, and image management", Tejashwi Yadav wrote on 'X' in Hindi. (ANI)