NEW DELHI: A notorious contract killer, who was on the run from police for two years after committing two murders in Delhi, has been arrested by Delhi Police’s Special Cell.
The accused, Mohammad Taj alias Chand Mian, had beaten his rival to death in full public view days after he was released from jail on bail. He also avenged the murder of his uncle that took place in 2009 and gunned down the killer in June this year.
Taj, cops said, kept a record of his enemies’ bails and parole and killed them as soon as they came out. Cops suspect he was planning to kill two others by following the same modus operandi.
DCP Jasmeet Singh said that Taj had been hiding in Lucknow and Behraich in UP for the last six months. “The process for declaring him a proclaimed offender by court in both the cases was in advanced stage,” he added.
Police had initiated a drive to catch absconders during which Taj figured prominently on their list. Inspector Shiv Kumar’s team received information about movements of this absconding criminal, after which a team was formed to nab him.
During surveillance on his associates, it was found that Taj was hiding in the areas of Lucknow and Behraich so traps were laid on the instance of informers. After two months of chase, the team got to know that Taj would go to Lucknow from Behraich. He was spotted near Jarwal bus stand on Lucknow-Behraich road and nabbed.
During questioning Taj said that last February, he and his associates had attacked a man named Saurabh to avenge the killing of his brother, which took place in Rajouri Garden in 2009. Saruabh had just been allowed a bail from the high court in a case.
In another case, Vinod Bhati, a property dealer of Raghubir Nagar area was shot dead by Taj and his associates in his office in Raghubir Nagar on June 25 this year. Bhati had earlier killed Riyaz, Taj's uncle, in the year 2019 in Delhi. Bhati had come out of jail on bail in that case in April and was soon targeted by Taj.
