NEW DELHI: After a two-year-long manhunt, the special cell of Delhi Police has arrested Munjtajim Qureshi alias Musa Qasai, wanted in the murder of Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma during the Delhi riots in February 2020. According to DCP Pramod Kushwaha, 34-year-old Qureshi, a resident of lane number 8 of Chand Bagh locality in northeast Delhi, was apprehended on October 10 from Gayatri Nagar in Telangana. Qureshi had a reward of Rs 50,000 on him and was earlier allegedly involved in a case of kidnapping and rape of a woman. IB officer Sharma was stabbed 52 times and killed by a mob at Chand Bagh pulia, located over Khajuri drain, on February 25. His mutilated body was found in the drain the following day. Police had arrested 10 members of the mob, including AAP councillor Tahir Hussain, in the case. However, a few key accused, including Qureshi, who was found to be an active member of the mob, remained at large. Qureshi was declared a proclaimed offender by the court. Recently, cops had intercepted a call made by him to his brother using a virtual number and it emerged that he had been hiding in Telangana. Sources were deployed on the ground and it was revealed that he had been hiding in Meerpet area for the past six months. A team led by ACPs Lalit Mohan Negi and Hriday Bhushan was formed to locate and arrest the suspect. On-ground surveillance revealed that the accused had visited a chemist shop located in Gayatri Nagar. A trap was laid and Qureshi turned up at the place after a few days on October 10 at 5.15pm. During interrogation, Qureshi told cops that he used to work as a butcher in Ghazipur murga mandi with his maternal uncle but later partnered with a UP-based criminal, Mujeeb, and started committing crimes for easy money. He was booked in multiple cases of Arms Act, attempted murder and robbery. He later began to deal in goats required for sacrifice and got married to a woman from another community, cops said. On February 24, Qureshi met two of his associates, Salman Mulla and Sameer, at his house. They attended a gathering of ‘like-minded individuals’ in the evening and planned to participate in violence, police said. “On October 25, the three accused assembled near Firdaus Masjid, Mustafabad, and caught Ankit Sharma alone near Chand Bagh pulia and brutally murdered him. While two of his associates were arrested, Qureshi managed to flee,” the DCP said.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/delhi-man-wanted-for-ib-officer-killing-held-after-2-years/articleshow/94821199.cms