Fugitive in firing case lands in police dragnet

The Delhi Police Crime Branch arrested a proclaimed offender who had been on the run for months after a firing incident in Sultanpuri. The accused has been identified as Sachin (30), a resident of Rohini.

Once a school dropout struggling to make ends meet, Sachin joined the ‘Bantu gang’. He allegedly worked as a shooter for extortion operations controlled from Tihar Jail.

The police said Sachin was wanted in a case registered at the Sultanpuri police station earlier this year for allegedly firing five rounds at a man, Rahul, who had killed his relative Suraj. He was declared a proclaimed offender by a Rohini court after evading arrest.

According to investigators, Sachin got involved in the gang’s activities, carrying out extortion threats by firing near victims’ homes. He used to follow instructions passed on from Tihar Jail by gang members and acted as their ground-level enforcer, a Crime Branch official said.

On October 31, Head Constable Naveen received a tip-off that Sachin would visit Indra Vikas, JJ Colony, Vikaspuri. Acting on the input, the police laid a trap. When Sachin arrived, he was apprehended. His details matched police and court records, confirming his identity.

During interrogation, Sachin told the police that he had been hiding in Hisar and Varanasi after the Sultanpuri firing. He claimed that he returned to Delhi to seek financial help from relatives.

The police said Sachin had three previous criminal cases registered against him, including under the Arms Act.

Officials said his arrest marks another step in the Crime Branch’s ongoing crackdown on gang-linked shooters and absconding offenders operating in Delhi’s outer districts.