Biryani row: Suspended cop held for eatery owner’s murder

RANCHI: Jharkhand Police have arrested three people, including a suspended police constable, in connection with the murder of a restaurant owner, Vijay Kumar Nag, in Ranchi on Saturday night. The accused persons had claimed that a chicken bone was found in the veg biryani ordered by them at Nag’s restaurant.SP (rural) Praveen Pushkar said on Monday that the shooter, Abhishek Kumar Singh, was arrested following an encounteron Sunday. Suspended police constable Harendra Singh, who had provided guns to Abhishek, was also nabbed on Sunday during an anti-crime checking , while another accused, Prashant Kumar Singh, was arrested earlier in the day. Another accused, Amit Thakur, is on the run, the SP said.A pistol, a live cartridge, six empty cartridges, four misfired bullets and a car were seized during the operation that led to Abhishek’s arrest, while a rifle, two pistols, a country-made pistol and 26 cartridges were confiscated from Harendra’s house.Acting on a tip-off that Abhishek was coming to meet his pregnant wife, police set up checkpoints at various locations, the SP said. On spotting his car, cops signalled it to stop. He tried to turn back and flee, but was encircled. He started firing at the cops, who retaliated.