The first time Avinash Srivastava alias Amit, now in his early thirties, wielded a gun he pumped 32 bullets into his father's killer, Moin Khan alias Pappu Khan, in Alamganj locality of Patna City in 2003.
It bears an eerie similarity to the scene in Gangs of Wasseypur where Faizal Khan (played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui) empties his gun into his father's killer Ramadhir Singh (played by Tigmanshu Dhulia). Murder avenged, Amit set off for New Delhi to study computer application at the Jamia Millia Islamia.
But that was not the end of his tryst with crime. The son of former MLC Lala Srivastava alias Lallan Srivastava has since committed 20 murders and was arrested on Sunday night from an area under the jurisdiction of Mahua police station in Vaishali district in connection with a bank theft at Harpur Hardas village. Before he entered the crime world, he had even worked for one of the top IT firms of the country (Infosys).
The Vaishali district police had no idea they had arrested a psychopath. "Don't waste your and my time interrogating me," he told them right away. "Just Google 'psycho killer Amit' and you will get all the answers."
But the search engine may not be able to answer what forced a Masters in Computer Application (MCA) to become a dreaded killer.
Police sources said Avinash's name had figured in the sensational killing of Moin Khan in Alamganj in 2003. Moin had allegedly killed Avinash's father in Kankarbagh the year before.
"He pumped 32 bullets into his father's alleged killer and coolly set off for New Delhi to study computer application at Jamia. But his criminal mindset never changed," said Vaishali superintendent of police (SP) Rakesh Kumar.
Senior police officers who quizzed Avinash said he turned into a psycho after his father's murder. The very next year, Avinash, then hardly 20, brutally killed Moin - said to be a key conspirator in Lallan's killing. His body was found riddled with 32 bullets.
"During interrogation, Avinash had confessed to murdering three persons and claimed he would gun down more once he is out of jail," Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manu Maharaaj, who had earlier arrested Avinash from Patna about three years ago, said.
Even after doing MCA, family pressure believably forced Avinash to rejoin crime when he returned to Patna in 2006.
"Since then, he has been active in the underworld," another police officer said. He also stopped living with his family - his mother and sister live in Kankarbagh - after joining the crime world.
Pumping 32 bullets into someone indicates a high level of frustration, clinical psychologist Brinda Singh said. "When thoughts of revenge dominate someone's mind, it leads to a situation when the thought process does not remain coherent, further adding to the frustration level."
Police sources said they were not sure whether or not his family members provoked Avinash.
Several cases under the Arms Act and murder are pending against Avinash, who used to reside at Ashok Nagar in Patna, since 2011.
He was arrested on several occasions and released on bail every time, as the police had no idea that he was Moin's killer, until he confessed on Sunday.
However, Avinash's luck ran out on Sunday night when Mahua police caught him while attempting to rob a bank at Harpur Hardas village.
"The thieves entered the bank posing as kavarias (lord Shiva's devotees). But the police on duty arrested Avinash," an investigating officer said. His three accomplices managed to escape.
During interrogation, Avinash revealed that he used to wear blue-colour jeans and T-shirts before setting off for any crime.
"This is my favourite colour and I always wear it at work," a police officer quoted Avinash as saying.
