With one more arrest on Saturday, the police said, all the accused have been arrested in the case of the murder of a 45-year-old woman in Dwarka Dabri earlier this month. The 57-year-old mastermind had allegedly hired three persons to rob and kill the victim, who was his family friend, they said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Anto Alphonse said that the accused have been identified as victim Rekha’s family friend and the mastermind Rifakat Khan, his accomplice Badru alias Umardin (27) and Badru’s accomplices Shabuddin alias Shahid (30) and Laeek Ansari alias Anwar (30). While Badru, Anwar and Shahid were arrested from their residence in Mumbai on October 17 (Wednesday), Rifakat was arrested on Saturday.
The police said that Rikafat, a property dealer, was aware that Rekha, with whom he was earlier in business, had sold her flat for over ₹19 lakh. He allegedly decided to kill her and loot the cash from the family. He roped in Badru, a friend from his village in UP. Badru further hired Anwar and Shahid. Rifakat had promised the other accused a good amount for the task. They were in dire need of money and therefore, agreed, the police said.
On October 3, Rekha’s husband Chhote Lal told the police that his wife was shot dead and her mobile phone was robbed by three men. Lal said they had come to his wife, who ran a brothel at their residence, posing as “customers”. The accused had locked the husband and the couple’s children before fleeing.
Mr. Alphonse said that during investigation, they found that the accused had demanded around ₹20 lakh from Rekha and that led the police suspect that they had come with the intention to rob. The police also suspected the role of someone close to the family as only a few were aware of their property being sold and the presence of cash in the house.
“Footage from around 200-250 CCTV cameras were scanned, after which three unknown persons were spotted roaming in the area. Further investigation revealed that the suspects were in contact with Rifakat, who was absconding,” Mr. Alphonse said, adding that his call records were analysed and a technical surveillance was mounted.
Badru, Anwar and Shahid were arrested from Mumbai on Wednesday after which their transit remand was sought and they were brought to Delhi. During interrogation, they told the police about Rifakat. “He called them to Delhi and also arranged weapons for carrying out a loot in Rekha’s house. They entered the house and Badru shot Rekha,” Mr. Alphonse said.
The police also said Shahid hails from Chennai and resides in Mumbai and used to work as a bouncer for a private company and has guarded Bollywood actors.
