Delhi riots: Man who shot dead 26-year-old law student in Shiv Vihar arrested

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police Crime Branch team probing the northeast Delhi riots said on Sunday (September 5) that the man, who had allegedly killing a 26-year-old law student and had been on run since then, has been arrested. According to the Crime Branch, the accused is carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head.

Mustaqeem (25) alias Sameer Saifi, a resident old Mustafabad, who allegedly shot dead Rahul Solanki (26) near Rajdhani Public School in Shiv Vihar on February 24, was arrested by a Special Investigation Team on September 3, police said. He has been sent to judicial custody, officials told PTI.

Mustaqeem joined the protest against CAA and NRC near Farukia Masjid, they added.

Solanki was pursuing LLB from a private college in Ghaziabad and had stepped out of his home to buy milk when he was shot dead.

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.

Solanki was shot dead near Rajdhani Public School and a case was registered at Dayalpur police station. Later, the investigation was handed over to the SIT.

During the investigation, eyewitnesses described the person who opened fire on Solanki. They identified the accused by his clothes and appearance after they were shown a video of the incident, a senior police officer said.

"We had deployed our sources in Mustafabad to identify the alleged shooter on the basis of his description. Our 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," the officer said.

Initially, Mustaqeem denied his involvement but confessed to the crime after a detailed questioning.

The country-made pistol used in the crime was recovered along with five live cartridges at his instance. A mobile phone and clothes, including his trousers, shoes and helmet, which he was wearing at the time of committing the crime, have also been found, police said. Mustaqeem studied up to class 10 but dropped out to work as a carpenter, police said.