Hours after the arrest of the Mustaqeem aka Sameer Saifi on Sunday for his involvement in the brutal murder of 27-year-old Rahul Solanki during the Delhi Anti-Hindu riots, the Delhi Police Crime Branch has reportedly secured a confession from the accused.
Saifi confesses to killing Rahul Solanki
Speaking on the development, the additional spokesperson of the Delhi Police Anit Mittal stated, “While analysing the video footage of the violence, a man was spotted shooting Solanki dead…On September 3, we received information that Saifi has been spotted.” He informed that the accused was apprehended from Bhajanpura, following a tip-off and added that the description of the assailant seen in the CCTV footage matched that of Saifi.
“Initially, he had denied his involvement in the murder but later when confronted with evidence, he confessed to having opened fire at Solanki,” Anit Mittal was quoted as saying.
Delhi Police seized weapon and belongings of the accused
The Delhi police had also recovered a country-made pistol from Saifi. The accused is a carpenter by profession and had a bounty of ₹1 lac on his head. They had also seized his mobile phone, a pair of jeans and shoes and the helmet he was wearing while firing shots at Rahul Solanki. The Delhi Police spokesperson stated that Saifi had actively participated in Anti-CAA protests near Farukia Masjid. He is a class 10 dropout.
Earlier, a case was registered under IPC Sections 34 (criminal act committed in furtherance of a common intention), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with a deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 302 (murder), 436 (mischief by fire or explosives), and 427 (causing damage above ₹50) at the Dayalpur police station. The case was then transferred to the Delhi Police Crime Branch. The Special Investigative Team (SIT) had earlier arrested Arif, Anis, Sirajuddin, Salman, Irshad, and Sonu Saifi in connection to the case.
The murder of Rahul Solanki
In June, the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police had filed a charge sheet in the murder of 27-year-old Rahul Solanki, who was killed by the Muslim mob during the Anti-Hindu riots that broke out in Shiv Vihar in Delhi in February. The charge-sheet had stated that Solanki was murdered near his house in Dayal Pur area around 5 pm on February 24 during the communal riots that took place near Shiv Vihar.
Rahul Solanki, a resident of Shiv Vihar, was pursuing his LLB from a private college in Ghaziabad. He had stepped out from his residence to buy milk when he was shot in the right shoulder near his neck by rioters in Shiv Vihar. He was shot dead when he was standing near Pal dairy street adjoining Rajdhani school. Rahul was murdered very close to the spot where another boy, Dilbar Negi was brutally dismembered and burned alive by the violent Muslim mob.
