Shootout suspect came to Delhi to finish off rival

The interrogation of a 50-year-old man who was nabbed for allegedly firing at two Delhi Police constables at Connaught Place on Saturday night has revealed he and his accomplices were at Shankar Market to eliminate a Delhi-based rival.

Mohammad Rizwan alias Irfan of Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh is wanted in 17 cases of murder, robbery and dacoity. A senior police officer revealed that among the three cases registered against him in Delhi, one was for a murder in Jamia Nagar last year.

The Delhi Police Special Cell had arrested him soon after the murder and sent him to Tihar Jail. But he was shifted to Moradabad for a court appearance in another case when he jumped bail.

The police have refused to divulge the name of the rival who was on the radar of Rizwan and his accomplices on Saturday. Whether the target was at Shankar Market at the time of the shootout too hasn’t been confirmed.

Though Rizwan revealed during interrogation the identities of his two accomplices who managed to flee after the shootout, the police said making their names public at this stage could hamper investigations.

“It was not an easy job making Rizwan speak during the interrogation. He was unwilling to even reveal his name for quite some time after questioning began,” said the officer.

Meanwhile, the Special Cell has been roped in to probe Rizwan’s links to any drug cartels. However, the officer said no such link has been found yet.

Rizwan and two others had been waiting at the Shankar Market on Saturday night to allegedly bump off their rival who operated from Delhi.

Meanwhile, the police received a tip-off about their presence and two constables were sent on their trail.

“Just as the constables called out to the three suspects, they began running in different directions. The policemen first chased them on motorcycles before parking the vehicles and running after them on foot,” said the officer on Sunday, recounting the previous day’s incident.


It was then that Rizwan allegedly fired at the policemen with a 7.32 mm pistol.
Rizwan and his accomplices fired four bullets while one shot was fired by the constables, said the police.

One bullet pierced through a van parked nearby. No one was injured.  Rizwan was soon overpowered by locals who thrashed him and handed him over to the police while his other accomplices escaped.