19-year-old man arrested after gunfight in east Delhi’s Ghazipur

The suspect, Mohammad Ayaan, was wanted in two cases registered in connection with incidents that took place on April 30 and May 29

A 19-year-old man wanted in separate cases of murder and attempt to murder was arrested after a brief shootout with the special cell of Delhi Police in Ghazipur in east Delhi in the early hours of Tuesday, police said on Wednesday. The suspect was injured after he was shot once in each leg during the gunfight, in which seven bullets were exchanged between him and police, officers said.

In a separate case, a man was injured in the early hours of Wednesday after two unidentified men on a motorcycle opened fire at him in Old Seemapuri in northeast Delhi. (Representational image)

The suspect, Mohammad Ayaan, a resident of Maujpur in northeast Delhi, was wanted in two cases registered in connection with incidents that took place on April 30 and May 29. On April 30, Ayaan and his two associates, one identified by his first name as Manish, shot at Prashant Mintu over personal enmity in the Harsh Vihar area in northeast Delhi. Mintu suffered bullet injuries in his legs and survived the attack, after which police registered an attempt to murder case.

“Mintu’s friend Vijay, a businessman, helped him get medical treatment and also pursued the attempt to murder case. On May 29, Ayaan, Manish, and their associate went to Vijay’s nickel polishing shop in Welcome in east Delhi and shot him dead. A case of murder was registered at the Welcome police station,” said a senior police officer.

On June 3, the special cell team learnt that Ayaan would be in DDA Park in Ghazipur late at night. At 12.30 am on Tuesday, the team members spotted Ayaan on a scooter stolen from Krishna Nagar, the same two-wheeler he and his two associates used in the two crimes. They signalled Ayaan to stop and surrender, but he tried to speed away and opened fire at the police team.

“Ayaan fired four rounds at police, who fired three bullets, two of which hit Ayaan’s legs,” a second officer said.

Ayaan’s interrogation revealed that he was arrested last December after a gunfight with police in northeast Delhi. He was wanted in two cases – one of ₹50 lakh extortion and the second for firing to intimidate the victim.

“We have information that Ayaan could be associated with the Hashim Baba gang. We are investigating the matter,” added the officer.

In a separate case, a man was injured in the early hours of Wednesday after two unidentified men on a motorcycle opened fire at him in Old Seemapuri in northeast Delhi. The victim, Mohammad Kaif, suffered a bullet injury to his shoulder. A case of attempt to murder was registered at the Seemapuri police station. Teams were formed to identify and nab the attackers and also establish the motive behind the attack, police said.