MARGAO
Two days after the Shantinagar shooting wherein a mason Abdul Kadar was killed at a local bar, the Margao police arrested accused Fayaz Khatib from Porvorim early Thursday.
The police have also arrested one Akbar Sheikh (20) for abetting the crime and have recovered the country-made pistol, which was used in the commissioning of the offence by accused Fayaz, from his possession.
Briefing the media, Margao police station in-charge, PI C L Patil informed that the accused was arrested from his in-law
While the accused was arrested from Porvorim, the police laid their hands on Akbar Sheikh, who had handed over the pistol and the live bullets to the accused two days before the incident.
"Our investigations have revealed that it was Akbar Sheikh, who had given the piston to the accused mechanic Fayaz for sale. After the shooting incident, which claimed the life of the mason Abdul Kadar, Akbar got the pistol and the five bullets from the accused before asking him to flee away from the State," PI
Patil said.
He said while the police has arrested accused Fayaz for murder, Akbar has been booked for abetting the murder. Akbar has also been booked under section 23 & 25 of the Arms Act for being in illegal possession of the firearm.
When the media sought to know whether the accused had any intention to kill the mason with the firearm, PI Patil said the accused and the deceased had no previous enmity.
"At this stage, I cannot say whether the shot that was fired from the pistol was accidental or not. However, there was no previous enmity between the accused and deceased," he said when asked to unravel the motive behind the shooting.
Police investigating source of firearm
MARGAO: With the men-in-uniform laying their hands on the accused in the shooting case, the Margao police has another job at hand - to find out the source of the pistol, which was brought to Goa for sale for a price of Rs 85,000?
While it is believed in police circles that the country-made pistol reportedly came from a native of Bihar, Margao PI C L Patil told the media that the police are still investigating into the source of the firearm.
That the firearm was brought to Goa for sale for Rs 85,000 has thrown up questions whether illegal arms are in circulation in the State for sale and use. ‘During investigations, it has come to light that Akbar had handed over the pistol to accused Fayaz Khatib to find out prospective customers before the ugly shooting incident took place at Shantinagar," PI Patil added.
Need to probe motive behind crime: PI Patil
MARGAO: Was the bullet fired from the country-made pistol that killed mason Abdul Kadar accidental and that the accused mechanic had no intention to murder his friend at a local bar at Shantinagar earlier this week?
When this question was posed to Margao PI C L Patil to shed light on the motive behind the murder, he only said the police need to investigate the exact motive behind the crime. He, however, said that no previous enmity between the accused and deceased has been established even as the accused has claimed that the shot was fired from the pistol accidentally.
The accused has claimed that he was handling the weapon in the bar when the bullet was fired accidentally, killing Abdul Kadar, who was sitting right opposite him. After the crime, the accused was heading to the Margao police station to surrender before he was stopped on the way by Akbar Sheikh, the person who had supplied the pistol to him.
"Akbar instilled fear in the accused that he would face huge consequences if he surrenders to the police. In fact, Akbar took the pistol from the accused, removed the SIM card from the cell phone of the accused and gave him Rs 1,000 to flee away from the State," PI Patil said.
While accused Fayaz Khatib fled from the place, it was Akbar who later parked the scooter of the accused along the Sinquetim road.
