Panaji: The crime branch of the Goa police is investigating whether others were involved with main accused Gopal Naik in the alleged Porvorim shootout on Aug 28. The crime branch arrested Naik last week and has interrogated him to determine the motive behind the incident.Goa police have arrested nine people in connection with the shootout but are yet to establish a motive. Crime branch SP Rahul Gupta said they were verifying whether anyone had directed Naik to carry out the shooting.Police said that the group used a two-wheeler and a four-wheeler to execute the shootout. CCTV footage shows the suspects conducted a recce for nearly four days, with a four-wheeler repeatedly circling the Porvorim hotel. Police have attached the vehicles used in the shootout.A senior crime branch officer said they suspect the assailants used stolen vehicles with altered number plates to evade detection, abandoning the two-wheeler at the shooting scene before escaping in the four-wheeler. He said the accused stayed at the railway station rather than a hotel to conceal their identities and did not use mobile phones.The shootout occurred on Aug 28, when two unidentified assailants allegedly opened fire on Shrinivas Nayak, director of Majestic Pride Group, which operates offshore and onshore casinos in Goa. CCTV footage showed the suspects waiting outside a hotel before targeting Nayak, who escaped unhurt. The assailants allegedly fired three rounds and fled when hotel security personnel tried to stop them.Porvorim police initially registered a case of attempt to murder, which was later transferred to the crime branch.
