Delhi’s most wanted gangster Sonu Dariyapur arrested by special cell

Delhi police had placed a reward of Rs 5 lakh for any information on gangster Sonu Dariyapur. He was arrested by the special cell from Narela on Thursday.

Police captured Satyawan Sehrawat alias Sonu Dariyapur, the capital’s most wanted criminal, after a dramatic shootout and chase at Narela in outer Delhi on Thursday morning.

Sonu Dariyapur had been on the run since 2009 when he jumped parole. (Photo : Sourced)

The authorities were hunting for Sonu in connection with 10 cases, including a triple murder involving friend-turned-foe Monu Dariyapur in April.

Delhi Police had announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh, the highest yet, for anybody providing information on Sonu. The Haryana police, for their part, placed a bounty of Rs 50,000 on his head. The gangster had been on the run since 2009, when he jumped parole.

Deputy commissioner of police (special cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said Sonu was driving down to Delhi from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh to meet an associate, Vijay Lamba, when special cell sleuths intercepted his white Hyundai i20 car around 5am. “A cornered Sonu pulled out a pistol and fired twice at inspector Vinay Kumar and assistant sub-inspector Shiv Mangal. However, the two police officers escaped unhurt because they were wearing bulletproof vests,” said Yadav.

The gangster surrendered after the police team fired in retaliation. Two pistols and 17 cartridges, besides the Hyundai i20 car (the same one used in the triple murder), were seized.

Sonu and seven accomplices had attacked Monu Dariyapur on April 30, while he was travelling in a car with his personal security officers — assistant sub-inspector Vijay Kumar and constable Kuldeep — and two others (accomplices Arun Setani and Yogesh) through outer Delhi’s Mianwali Nagar.

The assailants fired indiscriminately at the occupants of the car, killing Monu, Vijay Kumar and Setani. The other two were injured.

The gangster was reportedly furious that Monu had married his cousin against her family’s wishes. More than 40 bullets were fired in the incident, 20 of which struck Monu alone.

Sonu had joined hands with Haryana-based gangster Rajesh aka Raje, who was also looking for support to kill a rival, to attack his former friend. Monu was accorded police protection in view of a previous attempt on his life.

Six of the accused, including Raje, were arrested in the last four months. Sonu remained underground, constantly moving from one hideout to another across Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi to escape detection.