Patna police on Wednesday confirmed the arrest of Dhirendra Kumar, alias Kakku, one of the contract killers who allegedly murdered liquor dealer Saket Kumar Gupta.

Dhirendra was on his way to surrender at Gaya civil court on Tuesday when he disappeared. He was arrested on Wednesday.

Patna senior superintendent of police Amrit Raj confirmed the arrest to The Telegraph. “Yes, he has been taken in custody,” said the senior officer, refusing to reveal anything else.

Sources said a few persons forced Dhirendra into a car right outside the Gaya civil court on Tuesday.

A resident of Bocha Chak in Phulwari, he is alleged to be one of the three persons who shot Gupta at Kumhrar Park on May 7. The two others — Ajay and Raju — were arrested on the day of the murder.

A police officer said: “The price for killing Gupta was fixed at Rs 4 lakh. Dhirendra got Rs 30,000 of it. He and Raju shot at Gupta, killing him on the spot. Ajay was driving the bike on which the trio tried to escape.” The arrested person has been named in a number of cases of loot and violence in different police stations of Patna.

“Dhirendra’s arrest would provide the police with more information about how the murder plot was hatched. It will help the police speed up the ongoing investigation and find out who else was involved,” the officer added.

Eight persons have been named accused in the murder of Gupta. Two were arrested on May 7, while two others succeeded in dodging the cops and surrendering before the court.

One of the accused, Prem Singh, accused of being the main conspirator in the case, had died under mysterious circumstances. His body was recovered from the Kumhrar railway crossing on May 9.

Another police officer said: “There has been a spate of surrenders in the Gupta murder case. Some of the accused fear that they too would end up like Prem Singh.”

He added: “There have been rumours that Singh was tortured and he died of the persecution. The name of a criminal, also said to be an experienced police informer, is said to be associated with Singh’s death.”

He added: “The accused persons have chosen the means of surrendering in the court for survival. On May 19, Pankaj Singh, a liquor businessman, secretly surrendered at the Ara civil court. Before this, on May 15, Pramod Yadav, another big liquor dealer and a named accused in the murder case, surrendered at the Patna City civil court. Policemen were present on the court premises to nab him and but Yadav gave them the slip.”

The officer also said: “Dhirendra too followed the same method and tried to surrender in the court. But the police were alert this time and he was caught before he could enter the court premises to surrender.”