Patna, April 10: The proprietor of the building construction company, whose henchmen had allegedly shot dead a Musahar woman last Tuesday, has been arrested.

The arrest of Amit Poddar late last night is being considered as a major breakthrough in the case.

“The police had nabbed Pramod Poddar, Amit’s father, on Friday. Dharamveer, another associate of Amit, was arrested on Saturday night. Pramod was arrested from Mahatma Gandhi Setu while he was trying to escape. Acting on a tip-off, the police nabbed Dharamveer and Amit from Kankerbagh area. The father-son duo had planned to escape to Nepal by road,” a police officer told The Telegraph.

The police had earlier arrested four persons from the scene of firing. They were allegedly goons patronised by the construction firm. The Musahar community members had beaten up the four persons before the police came and rescued them. Amit was present on the spot on April 5 when his henchmen fired shots in the presence of police at the Musahar community people protesting against an alleged land-grab bid of his firm. A woman died and two were injured in the firing.

The incident snowballed into protests and arson at Jagdeo Path on Bailey Road. Violent protests continued on the next day. The police suspended the station house officer of Airport police station and five other home guards, who were present when the firing took place.

“The arrested persons are being interrogated. They have provided information about another associate of the builder as well as other henchmen involved in the firing. The police, on the basis of this information, will conduct raids to arrest the fugitives,” added the officer.

Sources told The Telegraph the actual name of the construction firm is Jai Niwas Constructions and not Amit Constructions.

“Since Amit is the owner of the company, it came to be known as Amit Constructions. Babita Singh, Amit’s wife, is the co-owner of the company. They have many associates, some of whom have been nabbed. Amit, his father, Pramod, and Dharamveer were present during the firing incident and have been named in the FIR. Babita’s name does not figure in the FIR lodged at Airport police station,” the officer added.

The police said the arrested persons claimed to have the requisite documents to prove the land was purchased legally. “Those documents, if any, need to be verified by the departments concerned. They have not produced the same till now. But the police are not concerned about that,” the officer said.

Sources said the background of the construction company was also being probed.