Agreed to pay `50L if plan succeeded

Vikram Goud meticulously planned the entire attack and paid `5 lakh as advance to the suspects. He agreed to pay a total of `50 lakh to the suspects if the plan succeeded. He took them to his home, and made them conduct a recce of the area. He also showed them the escape routes and the place where they could dispose off the gun. He put them up at a lodge at Banjara Hills two days before the incident. Mr Goud believed his plan was foolproof and the police would never find the truth.

Mr Goud met one of the accused A. Govind Reddy, 29, a native of YSR district, two years ago when Mr. Reddy expressed his interest to act in films. Since Vikram had been a producer earlier, he agreed to help him.

“Four months back, Mr Goud met Mr. Reddy again and expressed his desire to increase his popularity in Hyderabad so that he could get an MLA ticket and win the election. They both hatched a plan to stage an attempt to murder Mr Goud with an intention to frame his rivals,” said a police official.

Mr Goud paid `5 lakh to Mr. Reddy, who then met another accused S. Nanda Kumar, 35, a burglar from Anantapur district. Mr Reddy paid `3.5 lakh to Nanda Kumar to pull the task.

“Nanda searched for men who could buy a firearm and then shoot Mr Goud. He contacted a person named Shaik Ahmed, 30, a carpenter from Anantapur district, who in turn introduced shooter Raees Khan from Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Two other aides of Nanda—Babujan and Chinna, went to Indore and purchased the firearm,”said the official.

“As per their initial plan, Babujan and Chinna would come and attack Mr Goud on July 26. But due to some miscommunication, it did not work out. Later, Mr Goud asked Raees to come to Hyderabad to shoot him,” said the officer.