Congress leader Vikram Goud’s stage-managed bid on himself was meticulously planned, but went a bit awry at the execution point.
Vikram never realised that the blackening around the two bullet wounds on his arms would lay him bare before the police. When someone is shot at with a firearm from close range, blackening around the wound would be formed.
This is because of the soot particles. Soot is the carbonaceous material emerging from combusted gunpowder and vaporised metals which constitute a bullet. Normally, it forms when fired from a close range.
Vikram claimed that he was shot by unidentified persons who barged into the house. “We repeatedly asked Vikram where the attacker stood while firing at him. He said the assailant was several feet away,” an investigator said. In that case, there shouldn't be any blackening around the wound. But the Hyderabad Police Commissioner's Task Force sleuths noticed blackening not only around the wound but also soot particles on his shirt.
“That meant the attacker shot him from close range,” the investigators said. This suggested two possibilities. Either Vikram should have shot himself or someone known to him or having access to move closely around him was involved.
Meanwhile, analysis of call data record of Vikram confirmed that some persons, to whom he had been speaking for the past three months, moved in Banjara Hills area prior to the attack. Statements of his family members that Vikram was restless for two to three days prior to the attack strengthened suspicions of foul play.
Actually, Vikram spilled the beans about orchestration of the attack but the police wanted to catch all persons connected to the case.
Recovery of the firearm became a tough task for TF sleuths. Ahmed Shaik and Raees Khan told interrogators that they threw the weapon into Hakeempet pond off Jubilee Hills. TF personnel split into teams and combed every inch around the pond.
Not to arouse suspicions of others, they told curious onlookers that they were working as part of Haritha Haaram project. Still, the weapon couldn't be found.
Then they brought a heavy magnet -weighing more than five kilos. They tied a plastic rope around it and started dipping it in the water. “If the firearm was nearer, the magnet would catch it,” they said.
Their long search on Tuesday didn't yield results. Finally, on Wednesday morning they located the weapon using the magnet.