Liaquat was held immediately after he flew into the city to seek bail for his nephew Naushad, who had earlier been nabbed in connection with the killing. The CBI also suspects the involvement of some Mumbai-based persons in the murder.

In October 1991, Gopi (30), a driver and union activist, had left his village Kaladi near Alwaye in Kerala for Nagpur. He was to meet Liaquat, hailing from the same village, who had promised to give him his second-hand Ambassador car for the return journey.

Gopi was last seen on October 2, 1991, and one week later, Sonegaon police recovered a naked decomposed body, suspected to be his, from Chichbhuvan on Wardha Road. An offence of murder was registered.

In the meantime, Liaquat, in his capacityas secretary of the Keraleeya Samajam, Nagpur, had reported to Sadar police that Gopi was missing, and had issued advertisements in local dailies that Gopi was a drunkard who had run way from home.

The exact reason for the murder is still not known, but police suspect Gopi was killed following a scuffle with Liaquat. Liaquat's arrest may throw new light on the investigations, police officers said.

The gruesome nature of the killing had caused quite a furore in Kaladi and other parts of Kerala, and action committees were formed to demand a thorough probe in the matter.

When initial investigations made no headway, the case was transferred to the CBI at the request of Gopi's mother, Thankamma Shrinivasan.

Towards the end of 1992, Thankamma wrote a letter to the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court, expressing anguish over the slow pace of investigations.

The High Court converted her letter into a public interest litigation.