Shahdara victim killed overrole as witness in murder: Delhi Police

Days after a 20-year-old woman was shot dead in Shahdara’s GTB Enclave, police have revealed that her alleged killer, a 19-year-old man, pretended to be in love with her to gain her trust and lure her to her death

Days after a 20-year-old woman was shot dead in Shahdara’s GTB Enclave, police have revealed that her alleged killer, a 19-year-old man, pretended to be in love with her to gain her trust and lure her to her death. The real motive, officers have now uncovered, was to eliminate her as she was a key witness in an earlier murder case.

Police at the spot where the woman’s body was found on April 15. The killer lured the woman by pretending to be in love with her. (PTI)

Two more men have been arrested for allegedly conspiring in the plot.

According to deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) Prashant Gautam, the arrested accused include Firoz Khan alias Aman, 22, and Kishan Kumar alias Krishna, 39, both residents of Sunder Nagri. The shooter, Mohammed Rizwan, was arrested on April 17.

Around 10pm on April 14, police were informed about an unresponsive woman lying by the roadside. She had two gunshot wounds and was declared dead on the spot. CCTV footage showed her in conversation with Rizwan, which escalated into a heated argument before he pulled out a weapon and shot her. He then fled the scene.

Initially, Rizwan told cops he had acted out of self-professed “obsession,” claiming he had met the victim on Instagram two months earlier. “He said he saw her with another man and warned her to end that friendship. They often fought over it,” said additional commissioner of police (Crime) Sanjay Kumar Sain. Rizwan allegedly procured a country-made pistol two days before the murder and called the woman to meet him at Kodia Colony. When she refused to cut ties with the other man, he shot her.

However, sustained interrogation revealed a deeper conspiracy.

DCP Gautam said the woman had been a key witness in the murder of one Rahul Kumar, who was killed four months ago in Sunder Nagri after intervening in a street fight involving the woman. Her statement had been recorded before a magistrate.

Police said Krishna, Rahul’s paternal uncle, grew suspicious that she had grown friendly with Rahul’s alleged killers and might turn hostile in court, weakening the case.

Krishna and Khan allegedly recruited Rizwan to befriend the woman and lure her into a trap. “Rizwan met her in person only twice. The first time, she didn’t agree to go with him to a secluded place. The second time, she did — and he killed her,” an investigator said.

The plan reportedly included taking her to the outskirts of Delhi to mutilate her body to prevent identification, but Rizwan failed to convince her to travel far. Krishna had allegedly offered Rizwan ₹1 lakh to carry out the murder and had already paid him ₹15,000.

Police said further investigation is ongoing to verify the full extent of the conspiracy.