The Delhi Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the February riots in Delhi has nabbed a man, who carried a reward of Rs one lakh on his arrest for allegedly killing a 26-year-old law student near a school in Northeast Delhi.
The accused identified as Mustaqeem, 25, alias Sameer Saifi, a resident old Mustafabad, had allegedly shot dead Rahul Solanki near Rajdhani Public School in Shiv Vihar on February 24. Police said that he has been sent to judicial custody.
Solanki was pursuing LLB from a private college in Ghaziabad and had stepped out of his home to buy milk when he was killed.
Police said that Mustaqeem joined the protest against CAA and NRC near Farukia Masjid. The SIT has arrested seven other accused -- Arif, Anis, Sirajuddin, Salman, Sonu, Saifi and Irshad -- in the Solanki case and they have been chargesheeted for actively participating in the riots with a common objective to cause death, burn properties on February 24, police said.
According to a senior police official, Solanki was shot dead near Rajdhani Public School and a case was registered at Dayalpur police station and later, the investigation was handed over to the SIT.
“During investigation, eyewitnesses described the person who opened fire on Solanki. They identified the accused from his clothes and appearance after they were shown a video of the incident,” he said.
“Police team had deployed our sources in Mustafabad to identify the alleged shooter on the basis of his description. Police team questioned hundreds from the area and verified their presence at the spot through physical and technical means. But we did not find any information. After six months, on September 3, one of our sources informed us and he was apprehended from Bhajanpura Majar,” said the senior police official.
“Mustaqeem denied his involvement initially but accepted after detailed questioning. The country-made pistol used in the crime was recovered along with five live cartridges at his instance. A mobile phone and the clothes, including the jeans, pants, shoes and helmet, which he was wearing at the time of committing the crime have also been found,” he said.