A 33-year-old man was arrested for allegedly facilitating a dacoity and murder in in North West Delhi’s Ashok Vihar area with arms and ammunition, a police official said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Manoj, was arrested from Ghaziabad on May 15, the official added.
The arrested accused had been evading arrest since his name surfaced in this case during the probe into the daylight robbery and murder of a man who was carrying Rs 16.5 lakh in cash with him.
“Manoj had supplied arms and ammunition to his associate, one Faiyaz, who was directly linked in the case that happened on February 25. The victim had been shot in the chest with a pistol. He succumbed to the injuries sustained, and was declared dead by the medical team in the Hospital,” said the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Harsh Indora.
Soon after the incident, Manoj, to evade surveillance in this case, went underground and frequently changed his location and during that time used SIM cards which were registered in someone else’s name. His last known address was in Ghaziabad, though he was a native of Hapur district, the senior officer added in his statement.
During the investigation into this case, based on local intelligence and technical intel gathered about his whereabouts, the team traced his location in Ghaziabad and got their hands on him from the suspected location.
“During interrogation, the accused admitted that he had provided arms and ammunition to Faiyaz, who carried out the fatal attack on the victim. He was arrested under the relevant sections of the BNS,” Indora asserted.
The accused is also facing trial in a previous case of robbery and murder registered at Dwarka North police station. In that case, he was released on bail in 2022 and was facing the trail for the same case, the DCP added further.
As per the data provided, he was also previously involved in a 2016 case of attempted theft and hurt which was also registered in the same police station.
The police said Manoj, who studied up to class ninth, hails from a poor family background. He has a history in criminal activities and is associated with known criminals, the DCP stated.