HYDERABAD: A day after Hyderabad police announced the arrest of five persons in connection with the attempt to murder of former state minister M Mukesh Goud's son Vikram Goud, a case in which Vikram himself is the prime accused, police took custody of junior Goud who was undergoing treatment after being shot at on July 28.
Banjara Hills police arrested the youth Congress leader from his residence and shifted him to Osmania General Hospital on Thursday. He was discharged from the hospital in Jubilee Hills on Thursday morning.
Vikram is being produced before the Nampally criminal court.
The 35-year-old hired persons from parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka by offering to pay Rs 50 lakh and also paid an advance of Rs 5 lakh
Eyeing the 2019 Assembly elections, Vikram wanted to grab people's attention and gain public sympathy.
By executing the plan, he also wished to gain the sympathy of his family members. According to the police commissioner M Mahendar Reddy, Vikram thought that police would go after his enemies and similarly, he would get back his investments in Odisha mining project from his partner Sambashiva Rao. As he was in debts, he thought his creditors would stop troubling him in the wake of such an attack on him. He also thought it would be then easy to get a weapon license from police.
Police arrested five persons — S Nanda Kumar (35), Shaik Ahmed (30) and Kokanti Babujan (35) of Ananthapur, Raees Khan (32) of Indore, A Govind Reddy (29) of YSR district. Two persons, Venkata Rama and Ghouse and still absconding.
He had come in contact with accused Govind Reddy when the latter met him requesting for roles in Tollywood. Vikram was a producing partner of Ishq and Gundey Jari Gallanthayyinde movies. A few months ago, Vikram Goud asked Govind Reddy to help him in hiring a gang to implement his plan. Based on the instructions, Govind Reddy formed a gang and went to Indore in Madhya Pradesh by flight and purchased an illegal weapon.
The first attempt did not work out as gang members failed to implement the plan in public. In the second attempt, they opened fire at Vikram Goud leaving him with bullet injuries at his residence on July 28. After the incident, Vikram's wife Shipali lodged a complaint with Banjara Hills police stating that unknown miscreants opened fire at her husband.