Two from Kerala arrested for highway robbery near Coimbatore
R. Vishnu, 26, and J. Anshad, 35, from Alappuzha district in Kerala were arrested on Sunday.
The police said that a truck that was used for the highway robbery that took place at K.G. Chavadi on Salem – Kochi Highway (NH 544) on June 14 belonged to Vishnu and Anshad was at the wheel.
According to the police, the truck blocked the car travelled by Thrissur-based jeweller Jaison Jacob and his employee S. Vishnu near a fuel station at K.G. Chavadi, when they were driving back to Kerala after purchasing 1.25 kg of gold from Tamil Nadu. A few men, who tailed them, struck at the car and abducted them along with the vehicle. The robbers left Mr. Jacob and his aide on the side of another road, after robbing them of the jewellery and ₹60,000.
While the truck was found at Ettimadai on June 15, the jeweller's car was found abandoned on an interior road at Vazhukkal near Velanthavalam the next day. Vishnu and J. Anshad were arrested from Ettimadai on Sunday, the police said.
They added that special teams were on the lookout for other accused involved in the robbery.
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Hindustan Times
24 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Chirag Paswan criticises own government in Bihar: 'Gopal Khemka's murder worrying'
Union minister Chirag Paswan on Sunday criticised the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government in Bihar over the murder of businessman Gopal Khemka in Patna's Gandhi Maidan area. Union minister and LJP chief Chirag Paswan.(ANI) "If such an incident happens in a posh locality of Patna, then we can only imagine what is happening in villages," Chirag Paswan, whose Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) is part of the NDA government in Bihar and at the Centre, said. Paswan called Gopal Khemka's murder "worrying" and said strict action needs to be taken to set a precedent. Also Read: 'The police came..': Gopal Khemka's guard contradicts cops' version, flags three-hour delay 'It is worrying to see such incidents occur under a government that was known for good governance; then the opposition will have a chance to speak up. Strict action needs to be taken to set a precedent so that such a thing is not repeated,' Paswan said. The statement comes following the killing of Bihar-based businessman Gopal Khemka outside his house in Gandhi Maidan locality at 11.40 pm on Friday. Khemka, who was reportedly associated with the BJP, was shot dead by an unidentified armed assailant when he was about to alight from his car. Khemka's murder comes seven years after miscreants had gunned down his son in Hajipur. Following the murder, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar convened a meeting on Saturday to review the law and order situation and instructed officials concerned to complete the investigation into the killing of Khemka at the earliest. Also Read: Who was Gopal Khemka, BJP leader and Patna businessman shot dead outside home Opposition leaders, including RJD's Tejashwi Yadav and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, also attacked the Nitish government over the law and order situation in the state. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the incident has once again proven that the BJP and CM Nitish Kumar have together made Bihar the "crime capital of India". The Congress leader also asserted that in the upcoming polls, the vote will not be just to change the government, but to save the state. Tejashwi also attacked the NDA government saying that law and order has collapsed in Bihar and went on to claim that the state has witnessed "65,000 murders" in the last couple of decades.
The Print
2 hours ago
- The Print
Gopal Khemka murder: Patna cops exploring rivalry angle, parallels with son's 2018 killing
Gopal Khemka (64), the owner of the Magadh Hospital in Patna, was shot dead from close range by a bike-borne assailant outside his residence Friday night, less than a kilometre from the Gandhi Maidan police station. Additionally, senior police officials said they are exploring if this is in any way linked to the December 2018 murder of his son Gunjan Khemka. New Delhi: The Bihar Police is probing the high-profile murder case of Patna-based businessman Gopal Khemka from all angles including any potential family or business rivalry, police officials have confirmed to ThePrint, while indicating it could be a case of contract killing. The footage captured in the CCTV camera installed outside his residence suggests the killer was waiting for him at the gate. Around 11:38 pm, when Khemka arrived at the main gate of his residence, the assailant opened fire at him while the businessman was still in his car. The attacker then fled the scene. 'Prima facie, this looks like a clear case of contract killing where every move of the target was mapped, and the attacker was waiting outside his residence for the perfect opportunity. We shall probe it from all angles, from business or family rivalry as well as any linkage to the past murder in the family,' a senior Bihar Police officer told ThePrint, requesting anonymity as the probe is at a nascent stage. Coming as it does just months before assembly elections in the state, the sensational murder has sparked widespread criticism of the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government over law and order, even more so in the capital city of Patna. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said Nitish Kumar and the BJP have combined to make Bihar the 'crime capital of India'. पटना में व्यवसायी गोपाल खेमका की सरेआम गोली मारकर हत्या ने एक बार फिर साबित कर दिया है – भाजपा और नीतीश कुमार ने मिलकर बिहार को 'भारत की क्राइम कैपिटल' बना दिया है। आज बिहार लूट, गोली और हत्या के साए में जी रहा है। अपराध यहां 'नया नॉर्मल' बन चुका है – और सरकार पूरी तरह नाकाम।… — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 6, 2025 Khemka's son Gunjan too was shot by a bike-borne assailant who attacked him outside his cotton processing plant in Hajipur. Also Read: Meghalaya honeymoon murder: How bloodstained shirt & mangalsutra led police to suspect Sonam Raghuvanshi Recce & repetition of 2018 Around seven-and-a-half years ago, Khemka had complained to the Vaishali district police that his son Gunjan was shot from a close range near his firm G K Cotton in the industrial area of the neighbouring Hajipur town. A man wearing a helmet and gloves shot at Gunjan from outside his car. The businessman was declared dead on arrival by the hospital. The Vaishali district police arrested four suspects, and filed a chargesheet after investigation, with senior officials saying a land deal was the reason behind the murder. They said Khemka wanted to sell a prime land parcel in Hajipur after his planned project failed to take off. Bihar Police officials said the Khemkas and their partners intended to set up a biscuit factory on the land. However, as the project stalled, it fell under the target of a land-grabbing syndicate and local anti-social elements. The Vaishali Police had in April 2019 charged Patna-residents Abhishek Kumar alias Mastu and Rahul Anand alias Chinku, alongside Arun Kumar Singh alias Arun Choudhary and his son Anand Kumar alias Anand Choudhary with the murder. Mastu and Chinku were given bail in May 2019 by the Patna High Court while Choudharys secured bail from the same court in July that year. 'All accused had a long criminal history, and they conspired to remove Khemka from this land as he wanted to sell the land to someone else,' a Bihar Police officer told ThePrint Saturday. Mastu, a notorious criminal from Patna, was shot dead in 2021 in a case of inter-gang rivalry. Family members have alleged the real culprits of the 2018 murder of Gunjan were never brought to justice. Senior officials conceded that angles around family rivalry had come to the fore during the investigation but there was a lack of concrete evidence. Gaurav Khemka, Gopal Khemka's only son now, says his father's murder is a 'repetition' of the December 2018 killing. 'Good man' Gopal Khemka, the director of nine firms including G K Cotton, was a member of the Bankipore Club in Patna and was a daily visitor after office hours. On Friday, he dropped off his friend Sudesh Sarin outside his home while returning from the club. Sarin said he had known Khemka for around three decades and that he was not aware of any dispute the businessman had with anyone. 'I was with him in the same vehicle. We were returning from the Bankipore Club. He dropped me off at the Exhibition Road corner, just metres away. It could have been me as well if they had attacked before. Around midnight, I got a call from another friend who said Gopal was shot dead,' Sarin told ThePrint. 'He never discussed anything. No threats or disputes of any kind. He was a good man. His son was shot dead in a similar manner outside their factory in Hajipur. Gopal and his family are respected people,' he further said. In a complaint to the Gandhi Maidan police station, Gaurav Khemka alleged the local police had a delayed response. He said he had to carry his blood-soaked father to a private hospital in the other part of the city. Even after the police station in the area of the hospital informed the Gandhi Maidan police station, no one turned up at the hospital, and he had to take his father's body from the hospital to his house, the son alleged. Around 02:00 am, he further documented, the Patna Central superintendent of police came to their residence, suggesting the body could be handed over to the family only after the postmortem. Based on the complaint, the Patna Police Saturday registered a case under section 103 (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and section 27 (misuse of fire arms) of the Arms Act. BJP links, Oppn attacks Nitish While Gopal Khemka has been known in the political and bureaucratic circles to be a businessman strongly linked to the BJP, leaders in the Bihar unit of the party said he did not hold any official position. However, his slain son was a co-convener of the party's micro-industries cell. 'He (Gopal Khemka) had always been a sympathiser of the party and has had great terms with leaders. But he was never an office-bearer,' a Bihar BJP functionary told ThePrint. Leaders from opposition parties also made a beeline outside his residence to meet the family. They attacked the Nitish Kumar government over what they claimed was deteriorating law and order in the state. Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav visited Khemka's residence Saturday afternoon and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should ask Nitish Kumar about these crimes before raking up the alleged 'jungle raj' in the state when the RJD was in power between 1990 and 2005. 'This kind of incident happened in the heart of the city where the DM and SP reside, and the police station is just about 200 yards away. The murder was committed by shooting in front of their house. This makes it clear that the government's credibility has eroded in Bihar and criminals are receiving protection from the authorities. Family members believe the government is not disclosing any information about the action being taken. Crime and criminals are dominating the state. This situation shows what kind of rule Bihar is under,' Yadav told reporters. Even an MP from the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), a constituent of the ruling NDA, questioned law and order in the state and said if the business community does not feel safe in the state, there will be no improvement in the state of industries. 'We talk a lot about development and industries in the state, but if the business community is not safe in the state, will it be possible to have flourishing sectors and jobs in the state? The way Gopal Khemka was murdered last night, brazenly in an upscale area of Bihar, shows that criminals have no fear of the administration and that law and order has crumbled in Bihar,' Khagaria MP Rajesh Verma said in a video statement Saturday. Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sinha admitted to lapses on the part of police and assured strict action against officers found negligent 'The incident occurred just a few metres away from the police station. Where was the Patna Police's patrolling team? This is a serious incident, and officers found guilty of negligence will face action. We will recommend to the government the removal of such officers. The state government cannot ignore this negligence,' Sinha told reporters. (Edited by Ajeet Tiwari) Also Read: Make women pregnant, get rich—Bihar's cyber scam goes to a whole new level
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Punjab woman dies by suicide, husband follows suit thinking she eloped
A married couple in Punjab's Patiala district allegedly committed suicide in separate incidents over a misunderstanding, leaving behind three children, police said on Sunday. The 43-year-old man's body was found hanging at his home, police said.(PTI/ Representational) According to police, the husband took the extreme step after suspecting that his wife had eloped with someone. The couple had a quarrel on June 29, following which the woman left home with their three children, aged between 10-20. The woman took the children to a Gurdwara in Fatehgarh Sahib and later sent them to their maternal grandparents' house in Rupnagar district while she went missing. Despite her parents assuring the husband that she did not come to them, he suspected she had eloped, Gurpreet Singh, SHO of Bhadson police station, said. On July 3, the 43-year-old man's body was found hanging at his home. His wife had allegedly ended her life two days earlier, with her body retrieved from the Bhakra canal, but he was unaware of this, Singh said. A case has been registered, and further investigations are underway, Singh added. Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. A few major suicide prevention helpline numbers in India are 011-23389090 from Sumaitri (Delhi-based) and 044-24640050 from Sneha Foundation (Chennai-based).
