Patna: A computer science graduate and his mother have been arrested for the murder of a retired teacher for which they had received a " supari (contract)" while a third member of the gang - a railway employee - is absconding.
Vaishali police and the special task force from the headquarters busted the gang on Saturday.
Avinash Srivastava (32), a bachelor in computer science from a Patna-based institution, has been dubbed a serial killer by the cops. He has been arrested with his 55-year-old mother Kanchan Devi for the murder of Sahdeo Rai and involvement in an arms deal.
Avinash and his associate Satish Kumar killed Sahdeo on December 5 for Rs 80,000. Bidupur police station house officer (SHO) R.K. Mandal said "the contract was given to Avinash's gang by Dharmendra", a friend of Sahdeo with whom he had a dispute.
Mandal said Avinash's gang was involved in 18 murder cases lodged with police stations in Patna, Nawada and Vaishali districts. "The three districts were the areas of operation of the gang. Kanchan used to deal with the 'clients' on behalf of her sons," he said, adding that Avinash's brother was an employee of the Indian Railways.
"We are collecting information about his antecedents," an investigating officer said.
Avinash - a resident of Chandmari Road area under Kankerbagh police station in Patna - told his interrogators he had fallen into the world of crime after his father Lalan Srivastava was murdered in 2003. Then a teen, Avinash had pumped 32 bullets into Moin Khan, alias Pappu Khan, who was accused of killing Lalan.
Vaishali superintendent of police Rakesh Kumar told reporters that Avinash had taken the contract to eliminate six more persons in Patna and Vaishali district.
The special task force was keeping a close surveillance on the gang's activities. Special task force inspector Arjun Lal said acting on a tip-off, the team from Patna visited Daudpur village in Vaishali district and arrested Avinash with the help of the Bidupur police. Kanchan was arrested from Hajipur and Satish from Panapur in Vaishali district.
"All three persons have been were produced in the local court, which remanded them to judicial custody," the Bidupur SHO Mandal said.
