Delhi Police arrest wanted man for multiple murders

Police said Rihan ran a spare parts shop in Gokalpuri, and was first arrested in 2009 for allegedly killing his brother-in-law. After being released on bail, he allegedly killed a shopkeeper over a petty issue in 2012. He was jailed again and the next time when he got out on bail, he started a cannabis business.

In 2017, Rihan came under police radar when he allegedly accepted a contract to kill scrap dealer and alleged criminal Zafar Qureshi, a resident of Jafrabad. “Qureshi was a big name in Jafrabad; he used to take money from illegal scrap dealers and transporters in Western UP. To get rid of him, other dealers issued a contract for his murder, but no one was willing to accept the ‘supari’ because of Zafar’s clout,” said a senior police officer.

However, Rihan accepted the contract for Rs 5 lakh, given by one Mehraj, who wanted to monopolise the illegal scrap trade business. “Rihan allegedly killed Qureshi in front of his nephew, Abrar, when he was sitting outside his shop in Old Seelampur on October 25, 2017,” the then Additional DCP (North East) Devender Arya said, adding that Rihan and his associate Faizan were arrested two months later.

A senior officer said Rihan has three elder brothers. One of them, Shehzad, married a local dancer, and his family objected to the marriage.

“When Rihan was in jail, his brothers, Shehzad and Moinuddin, allegedly killed the woman’s brother Mohammed Salman during a brawl last year, following which tension had been high between the two families,” police said. Shehzad and Moinuddin are also in jail.

In the meantime, police said Rihan allegedly kept pressuring Abrar to change his statement before the magistrate. In January, he came out on interim bail.

“Mohammed Salman’s brother Sonu and his friend Salman Khan had been looking for an opportunity to avenge Mohammed Salman’s death, and they killed Hakmuddin as a result. They were later approached by Abrar, and together they killed scrap dealer Mehraj’s brother Sarfaraz in Krishna Nagar on April 4. Sarfaraz’s family had been providing financial support to Rihan, and Sarfaraz had also been threatening Abrar to change his statement,” police said.

In April, two of Rihan’s aides were killed within a week. He, along with his nephew, then killed Sonu’s relative in Seelampur on April 12.

“Since then, several teams of the North East, special cell and crime branch had been looking for Rihan. Several raids were conducted, but police were not able to locate him. He was making calls using an international number, and a special cell team eventually traced his house to Burari. He was hiding with his wife Uzma and sister-in-law Sanna, both of whom have been arrested under the Arms Act,” the officer said.