She joined illegal arms gang to finance studies

Twenty-year-old Zainab Nisha, who used to act as a sales executive for the interstate gun-running network, met the gang's Delhi kingpin at a friend’s engagement ceremony earlier this year. The Delhi Police's special cell busted the gang on Tuesday.

Twenty-year-old Zainab Nisha, who used to act as a sales executive for the interstate gun-running network, met the gang's Delhi kingpin at a friend’s engagement ceremony earlier this year. The Delhi Police's special cell busted the gang on Tuesday.

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“Zainab was discovered and recruited at a family friend's engagement held sometime in early March this year. It was at the function that she came in contact with Riyaz’s brother-in-law who realised that she was perfect for the job,” said a senior officer from the Special Cell requesting anonymity.

Though they refrained from divulging his identity, sources said Nisha’s father was a teacher at a local madrasa in northeast Delhi.

“She belongs to a lower middle-class family and was frustrated because she couldn't continue her education due to her family’s failing economic condition. That’s why she took up the sales executive jobs at various places but with these part time jobs, she couldn’t attend regular school,” the officer said.

Her turbulent economic condition made Riyaz's brother-in-law —whom police refused to name as investigations are still on —realise that she would be willing to take the risk for less money.

“He told her that she could make more money with less effort. Since she would be required to work only a couple of times a month, that is whenever the arms supply came from Bihar and Jharkhand, he told her she could finally afford to enroll herself in the Open School,” the officer said.

Nisha was then introduced to Riyaz. The duo had been posing as a married couple while distributing the illegally procured arms for the last eight months, sources said.

“They had entered the restaurant as a married couple on the pretext of having dinner but were in fact waiting to hand over a fresh consignment of four guns to a gang operating from UP,” the officer added.