The Delhi Police’s Special Cell has arrested a 34-year-old man, accused of killing Intelligence Bureau (IB) staffer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, from Meerpet in Telangana. He was wanted in the murder and a reward of Rs 50,000 was declared on information leading to his arrest as he was hiding since 2020.
Police said that the accused has been identified as Mohammad Muntajim, a resident of Chand Bagh area in Delhi. He was also previously involved in five criminal cases including attempt to murder, under the Arms Act and criminal intimation. Police said that he was declared a proclaimed offender in the case by the court vide order dated January 5, 2021.
According to the post-mortem report, Sharma was stabbed 52 times with sharp-edged weapons. PS Kushwah, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Special Cell said that specific inputs were received that the accused was living in Telangana for the last six months following which a team of the Special Cell was sent there.”Sources told police that the accused used to visit a particular chemist shop in Gayatri Nagar, Meerpet.
“The police kept watch and on October 10, at about 5:15 PM the accused Muntajim alias Musa Qureshi was spotted going into the chemist shop. Immediately the police team surrounded and apprehended him,” said the DCP.
“On interrogation, the accused revealed that after doing tailoring work for some years, he went to jail in a kidnapping and rape case. In the jail, he met one notorious criminal Mujeeb of Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh (UP),” said the DCP. “After coming out of jail the accused started working in Gazipur Murga Mandi with his maternal uncle. But in order to meet his expenses the accused started committing crimes,” said the DCP.
“In 2018 the accused went to Mumbai along with his wife and started doing sale purchase of goats there. When he again came to Delhi, he met his two friends identified as Salman and Sameer. On February 24, both of them came to Muntajim’s house in Chand Bagh and they decided to participate in the ongoing riots in the city,” said the DCP. “On February 25, all the three accused assembled near Firdaus Masjid, Mustafabad and being highly radicalised they also involved themselves in the ongoing riots in the area of Chand Bagh, northeast Delhi.
The accused Muntajim along with his associates and others after finding Ankit Sharma alone near Chand Bagh pulia murdered him. His two friends, Salman and Sameer, have already been arrested in the case,” said the DCP.
Police said that during investigation of the northeast Delhi riots, 10 accused had been arrested including the then sitting AAP councilor Tahir Hussain.