A 48-year-old inter-state gangster wanted in 39 cases, including murder, and who was carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head, was brought to Delhi on Wednesday.

Rizwan from Moradabad in UP, was arrested at Rudrapur in Uttarakhand last week, said deputy commissioner of police (crime) Ashok Chand.

“We received a tip-off that Rizwan has a hideout in Rudrapur. A police team went there, laid a trap and arrested him,” added Chand.

He has been evading arrest since 2003. He was carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh declared by the Delhi police after a murder in 2009 in Jamia Nagar.

A pistol and four cartridges were recovered from his Daryaganj hideout. From his Nizamuddin hideout, police recovered a 9 mm pistol and four cartridges.

Rizwan told police that he is a school dropout and he wanted to earn quick money. Along with his associates, he entered the world of crime in 1987 at his hometown.
He was subsequently arrested and sent to jail. When he came out, he got in touch with Shaukat Pasa, a gangster in Moradabad.

He joined his gang and they committed numerous robberies and other crimes across Uttar Pradesh.

The gang had several encounters with UP police and never hesitated to fire at police teams. The gang comprised 10 to 12 fully-armed members.

Rizwan was arrested in Delhi in 1999 at Shahdara. After he was released, he was again arrested in 2003 in Delhi for planning to commit robbery in Paharganj. He had changed his name to Irfan. When he was released on bail, he did not attend court.

“Since then he has been absconding. In 2009, along with Shaukat Pasa and his other associates, the gang shot dead another associate, Abdul Hafiz Khan, in Batla House at Jamia Nagar over a financial dispute,” said Chand.