DU student murder: Gym trainer arrested after exchange of fire

A 26-year-old gym trainer accused of stabbing and strangling a 21-year-old Delhi University (DU) student to death after she decided to end their relationship was arrested following an exchange of fire with police in west Delhi's Rajouri Garden, officials said on Friday.

Accused Aqib alias Imran, who has two previous criminal cases against him, including one under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, was apprehended late on Thursday evening after he allegedly fired four rounds at a police team.

The police team fired seven rounds in self-defence, resulting in Imran sustaining three bullet injuries in both legs, the officials said, adding that no police personnel was injured in the exchange of fire.

Imran was rushed to the Guru Gobind Singh Hospital in Raghubir Nagar for treatment.

The exchange of fire took place around 11:15 pm near the Sub-Registrar Office on Nala Road in Rajouri Garden, after police received specific information about Imran's movements in the area around 10:55 pm.

"The police team disclosed its identity and repeatedly asked him to surrender. Instead, he suddenly took out a pistol and opened fire towards the police party," Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Hareshwar Swami said.

Despite repeated warnings, the accused continued firing. Head Constable Jitender fired a warning shot in the air, but Imran did not relent. Jitender and another head constable, Nand Kishore, subsequently fired three rounds each aimed at his legs, police said.

A separate FIR has been registered at the Rajouri Garden police station under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Arms Act in connection with the firing incident.

The arrest came after an extensive manhunt was launched following the killing of Muskan Sharma at her residence in west Delhi's Tilak Nagar on August 26. An FIR under section 103(1) (murder) of the BNS was registered at the Tilak Nagar police station on August 27.

Police said around 15 teams comprising personnel from the Special Staff, AATS, Narcotics Squad, Sub-Division Tilak Nagar crack teams, local police and other specialised units were deployed to trace the accused.

CCTV footage showed Imran entering the victim's house at around 5:45 pm on August 26 and leaving around 6 pm. His subsequent movements were also tracked through the CCTV footage, leading to his identification as the prime accused.

According to the DCP, Sharma was a second-year student in the DU's School of Open Learning (SOL), a content creator and a part-time model. Her elder sister is also a model. She was the youngest of four siblings and lived with her parents and siblings in a rented house near Mangla Hospital in west Delhi.

Police said Imran had known Muskan for around 18 months after the two met at the gym where he worked as a trainer. He had worked there for around three months, before being removed about two months ago over alleged inappropriate behaviour with customers, according to a gym worker.

According to police, Imran was also in a relationship with another woman.

The victim allegedly came to know about the relationship and wanted to end her association with the accused. Police suspect that this decision of the victim led to further friction between the two.

The victim had approached a police station on July 18, accusing Imran of harassing her, but had not submitted a formal complaint. Police said given his history of drug use, Imran was sent to a de-addiction centre and released from the facility on July 30 after he allegedly harmed himself there.

Even though the victim did not want to continue her relationship with the accused, the latter allegedly kept pursuing her, police said. Investigators suspect that the accused was enraged after the victim started talking to another man over the last two months.

On August 26, Imran allegedly went to the victim's house when she was alone.

Following an argument between the two, Imran allegedly stabbed the victim multiple times in the stomach with a knife and strangled her before fleeing, police said.

The accused had also taken the victim's mobile phone with him, but allegedly threw it away after failing to unlock it, police said.

The house help found the victim in an injured condition on the second floor of the house and informed her family members, following which police were called. A PCR call was received at the Tilak Nagar police station at 7:24 pm. The victim was taken to a hospital where doctors declared her dead on arrival.

Police said Imran has also been found involved in two previous cases registered at the Tilak Nagar police station -- one under Indian Penal Code sections, including 323 (voluntary causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354D (stalking) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), and section 8 (sexual assault) of the POCSO Act in 2018, and another under section 308 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC in 2021.

Further investigation is underway.