5 held for killing govt contractor

Five people, including a woman, have been arrested in connection with the killing of a government contractor in Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur district earlier this month, police said on Sunday.

Rakesh Yadav was shot dead at the PWD office here around 1 pm on December 2. Suspected shooter Rahul Chaudhary, Gopal Dixit, Gaurav Jindal, Shivam Trivedi and Meeta Gupta have been arrested, district Superintendent of Police S Chinnappa said.

The suspects have told the police that Abhay Raj Gupta was the mastermind behind the killing, Chinnappa said.

"He had planned the murder and, before the murder took place, he left for Bangkok so that no one doubts him," the SP said.

The five have been sent to jail and efforts are being made to arrest Gupta as soon as possible, the officer added.