Shahbaz was arrested with the 9 mm pistol stolen from a head constable during the riots. (File)
The Special Cell of Delhi Police has arrested a 23-year-old man and recovered a pistol, allegedly stolen from a head constable during the riots in northeast Delhi in 2020, officials said on Wednesday.
Dayalpur resident Sahid alias Shahbaz was arrested on November 11 along with the 9 mm pistol stolen from a head constable during the riots, they said.
Three suspected shooters -- Sameer (24), Suhail Chaudhary (22) and Shahnawaj (25) of the Irfan alias Chhenu gang -- were also arrested, the police said.
Chhetrapal Singh, the head constable whose service pistol was recovered from Shahbaz, is in a "persistent vegetative state" due to the severe injuries he suffered during the riots. He was injured alongside the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Assistant Commissioner of Police and head constable Rattan Lal, who later succumbed to his injuries.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Pramod Singh Kushwah said the cops received a tip-off on September 3 that Chaudhary, wanted in a firing incident at Bhajanpura, would be in Shahdara to commit a crime.
On the basis of the input, a police team laid a trap on Jafrabad-Seelampur Road and arrested Chaudhary and his associate Shahnawaj. A .30 bore pistol and four live cartridges, a single-shot pistol and four live 8 mm cartridges were recovered from the duo, he said.
The cops also seized a motorcycle with a forged number plate. It was found to have been stolen from Jafrabad on September 16, Kushwah added.
Sameer, their other associate, was arrested from Maujpur on November 6, the officer said.
Based on information received from Sameer, Shahbaz was caught, he added.
Upon interrogation, Shahbaz revealed he was part of the protests in northeast Delhi against CAA/NRC in December 2019 to February 2020. On February 24, 2020, he and his associates allegedly blocked the Wazirabad Road, resulting in riots, the officer said.
During the riot, he joined and other rioters allegedly attacked the police officers on duty. He allegedly snatched the pistol of Singh after assaulting him with the mob, the officer added.
The three alleged shooters are involved in cases of firing at the RSS' office in Shakarpur, the house of a BJP leader in Uttar Pradesh's Amroha, attempt to murder, firing for extortion, and several others in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, the police said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)