PANAJI
In a fresh development in the Porvorim shootout case, the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF), in a joint operation with the Goa Crime Branch, arrested one of the suspected prime shooters from Bahraich on Saturday while he was allegedly attempting to flee to Nepal.
The accused, identified as Babu, 35, was flown to Goa on Sunday morning and produced before a local court, which remanded him to four days in police custody.
Sources said the Goa Crime Branch had sought the assistance of the UP STF to trace Babu, who is suspected to be one of the shooters involved in the August 28 firing at Hotel Neo Majestic in Porvorim.
Earlier this week, the Crime Branch had arrested three other suspects — Qazu Sheikh, 28, Suraj Acharya, 36, and Israr Ali, 25 in connection with the case. Sheikh and Acharya were arrested in Uttar Pradesh and Mumbai respectively, while Ali was arrested in Mumbai.
The August 28 incident involved two unidentified assailants allegedly opening fire at Shrinivas Nayak, director of Majestic Pride Group, as he was leaving the hotel. The attackers reportedly fired three to four rounds, but Nayak escaped unhurt. His bodyguard retaliated by firing three rounds, following which the assailants fled.
Investigators have been analysing CCTV footage from the hotel and surrounding areas, besides gathering technical inputs to establish the roles of the accused and ascertain the motive behind the attack.
