New Delhi, Aug 16(HS): In a dramatic operation, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested Mohammed Dilshad, an accused who had been on the run for 26 years in a murder case. Officials caught him on August 11 at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport when he attempted to return from Saudi Arabia using a fake passport.

Following his arrest, Dilshad was remanded to judicial custody on August 14. According to the CBI, Dilshad is accused of killing a man in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in October 1999, where he was working as a motor mechanic and security guard. Soon after the crime, he fled to India and managed to evade authorities for over two decades.

Acting on a request from Saudi officials, the CBI registered a case in April 2022. Investigations revealed that Dilshad had assumed a new identity, procured a forged passport, and traveled frequently to countries including Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.

A lookout circular (LOC) was issued, and his native village in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, was traced, but Dilshad kept slipping away. Later, through technical surveillance and intelligence inputs, the CBI uncovered details of his new passport, leading to a fresh LOC. His cover was finally blown when he landed from Medina via Jeddah to Delhi, where officials moved in and placed him under arrest.

The CBI confirmed that further investigation into the case is still underway.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar