A 33-year-old alleged contract killer was arrested on Monday for allegedly shooting at a man on November 23 in connivance with the victim’s wife. The accused is also wanted in a murder case of a Sawajwadi Party leader in Lucknow.
Mannan alias Khalifa alias Murtaja, a native of Uttar Pradesh, was arrested near the Moolchand Metro Station around 2 a.m. after the police received a tip-off about his arrival.
“He was asked to stop but he tried to run. An officer blocked his way after which he took out his pistol but was overpowered,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast) Romil Baaniya.
Met on Facebook
According to the police, Mannan allegedly shot Mohd Zaki, a resident of Okhla, on the direction of his wife who allegedly wanted to live with her love interest.
Facebook affDuring the investigation, the police learnt that Mohd Zaki had a troubled relationship with his wife. Mannan often visited their house because he and Zaki hailed from Bareilly. As a result, Mannan and Zaki’s wife had also become good friends.
The police said that Zaki’s wife had met one Mujubbuddin, a native of Telangana who’s settled in Dubai, through Facebook and wanted to marry him.
“She informed Mannan that Mujubbuddin had come to Delhi and she had married him. To take Mannan into confidence, she told him that Zaki was planning to get him arrested in the Lucknow murder case. She gave him a contract of ₹5 lakh to eliminate Zaki,” said Mr. Baaniya, adding that an advance of ₹50,000 was already given.
However, Mannan did not trust her completely and decided to shoot Zaki in his leg, the officer said.
The police said that Mannan had joined the Satya Prakash alias Satte gang and started committing robbery and dacoity in Delhi and NCR. He was arrested in 2008 for his alleged involvement in a robbery of ₹17lakh for which he was lodged in jail for eight years.
“During his time in jail, he became friends with a gangster called Salim who gave him the contract to kill SP leader Mohd Zaid Shakeel. He was later shot dead and the UP Police declared a reward of ₹12,000 on Mannan’s arrest,” said Mr Baaniya. With his arrest, the police claim to have solved 24 criminal cases.
