Nagpur: Nabbed from Ludhiana, 124 days after murdering Nagpur photographer Vinay alias Bablu Poonekar, the shooter Hemant Shukla admitted to the crime, terming it a fall out of a scuffle. The fugitive used at least six mobile handsets and multiple SIM cards to skip technical surveillance, while working as a gym-trainer in Ludhiana.
Sadar police on Friday produced Poonekar’s assailant Shukla before the magistrate and sought two-week custody for an in-depth investigation, but police were granted remand till July 2.
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According to police, the first shot was fired at Poonekar’s neck, followed by another one to the head. This information surfaced during the custodial interrogation of Shukla by the Sadar Police. The city police brought the arrested shooter Hemant Shukla from Ludhiana, Punjab, to Nagpur for questioning regarding the murder of Poonekar.
Police stated that Shukla was evasive during the initial interrogation but confessed after intense questioning. According to Shukla, he went to Poonekar’s house after calling him. Upon entering, Shukla shook hands with him and they briefly discussed the triangle involving Sakshi Grover, Hemant Shukla and Poonekar. During the discussion, Poonekar denied any friendship with Sakshi, the police said.
However, Shukla became enraged and a physical altercation broke out between them. During the scuffle, Shukla pushed Poonekar onto the bed and fired the first shot at Poonekar’s neck and the second shot to the head from the front. Later, he left the house and fled the scene on Sakshi’s two-wheeler.
During custodial interrogation, Shukla told police that he went to Poonekar’s house at Raj Nagar on February 24 to convince him to stay away from Sakshi. Also, the murder weapon was purchased from Uttar Pradesh, as per his preliminary confession.
Shukla has so far stated Poonekar was agitated when he realized that the former twice threatened him posing as Sakshi from her cell phone number, using a screen-sharing app. The two men engaged in fisticuffs, before Shukla drew his gun and shot Shukla twice from point blank range.
Shukla claimed before police to have grown close to Sakshi, a widow, at Satna while working at the gym of her kin. Sakshi had also induced Shukla to commit burglary at her relative’s place, before returning to Nagpur, said police. Shukla grew suspicious about Sakshi when she resumed her relationship with Poonekar, said reports.
After several rounds of arguments, Shukla reached Nagpur a day before the murder and went to Poonekar’s residence, riding pillion on Sakshi’s scooter. A day before, Shukla laid a trap for Poonekar by chatting with him posing as Sakshi through a screen-sharing app. He told the photographer to wait for him at home, forcing him to believe it was Sakshi, who wanted to meet him.
Shukla visited Ayodhya twice, travelled without ticket in trains
After leaving the crime scene, Shukla was on the run for over four months. He went directly to Nagpur Railway Station and travelled to Raipur, where he met a relative and boarded a train to Bilaspur. Over the past five months, he had been evading the police across North India and visited Ayodhya twice. His journey spanned Nagpur – Raipur – Bilaspur – Maihar – Satna – Delhi – Ayodhya – Sonipat – Panipat – Jaipur – Mumbai – Raipur – Bilaspur – Paudi – Kaimur – Satna – Ayodhya and Ludhiana.
During this time, Shukla faced financial difficulties and travelled on trains without tickets. On one occasion, a Ticket Examiner (TTE) asked for his ticket, but he threatened the TTE. He took up various odd jobs, including working as an instructor at a gym in Ludhiana. However, on his first day on the job, he was arrested by the Nagpur Police.
