Shahrukh, who brandished gun at Delhi cop during riots, nabbed from UP

He told the police that he aspires to become a model and often uploads his videos on Tik Tok.

Delhi Police on Tuesday arrested Mohammad Shahrukh, ending an eight-day-long search for the man who aimed a gun at a policeman and then fired multiple shots at the crowd in Jafrabad last Monday, when the violence in north-east Delhi spiralled into a communal riot.

A TikTok enthusiast, Shahrukh, was seen brandishing a gun at an unarmed Delhi police official during the Delhi riots. (HT photo)

Police said the man, a college drop-out who runs a socks manufacturing unit in Usmanpur, was arrested in an early morning raid in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli, had last week three rounds from his 7.65 bore pistol. Shahrukh claims to have fired the shots in a fit of rage after seeing the violence, and he was not leading a mob, police said after initial interrogation.

They added that he had no criminal record, and bought the pistol two years back.

Shahrukh, who fled Jafrabad after the incident, videos of which went viral on social media, spent last Monday sleeping in his Maruti Esteem car in Connaught Place, and then left for Jalandhar, from where he later moved to Bareilly and then Shamli.

Shahrukh has been booked under IPC sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 307 (attempt to murder), and under relevant sections of Arms Act.

He was sent to four-day police custody by a local court in the Capital.

He told the police that he aspires to become a model and often uploads his videos on Tik Tok.

Last Monday, Shahrukh, wearing a red shirt and blue trousers, was seen firing multiple gunshots amid heavy stone-pelting as clashes between Hindus and Muslims broke out on the Jafrabad-Maujpur road. The video showed him emerging from a crowd brandishing a pistol in his right hand. Shahrukh then pointed the pistol at a policeman, armed only with a baton, who tried to stop him, before shooting in the direction of a rival mob across the road.

Police said on Tuesday that the bullets did not hit anyone.

Additional commissioner of police (crime) Ajit Singla said they received information that Shahrukh was hiding in Shamli, and was preparing to change his location.

“Our teams reached Shamli. He was arrested from near a bus stand when he had already left his hideout,” he said.

The additional commissioner said Shahrukh told them during questioning that he opened fire because he was outraged after seeing the violence.

“He has said he was alone at the time when he opened fire and said he was not leading the mob. Our forensics teams had recovered three empty bullet cartridges that he had fired. He said two bullets fell from him as he hurried amid the riots and five unfired bullets have been recovered from him,” Singla said.

He said they have not found Shahrukh involved in any previous criminal case, but his father was involved in cases of narcotics and supplying fake currency. “Shahrukh runs a socks manufacturing unit in north-east Delhi. He said he had bought the pistol through a contact of one of his factory employees. We are tracing the source of the weapon,” Singla said.

A total of 47 people were killed and over 350 people were injured in Delhi riots between February 23 and 25.