New Delhi: Police have arrested the man accused of murdering a 21-year-old Delhi University student in Tilak Nagar, west Delhi, after he was caught in a gunfight with officers on Friday.
How he was caught
The accused, Aqib, who goes by Imran (26), worked as a gym trainer. He had been on the run since August 26, when he allegedly stabbed the young woman, Muskan, to death inside her own apartment. Police formed more than 15 teams to track him down.
A senior police officer explained that barricades and checkpoints were put up across the district right after the murder, with teams working nonstop to find Imran. He kept moving between hideouts to stay hidden. Eventually, a tip-off led the Special Staff and Anti-Terror Squad to set a trap for him.
When police closed in, a shootout broke out. Imran fired four rounds and police fired seven. He was hit three times in the leg, was taken into custody, and is now being questioned as the investigation continues.
How they knew each other
Police say Imran and Muskan had known each other for about 18 months, having first met at the gym where he trained clients.
Muskan was a second-year student at Delhi University’s School of Open Learning. She also worked as a content creator and part-time model — her older sister is a model too. The youngest of four siblings, she lived with her family in a rented home near Mangla Hospital in west Delhi.
Imran, meanwhile, had lost his gym job about two months earlier after alleged inappropriate behaviour with customers, following roughly three months of employment there.
Warning signs before the murder
On July 18, Muskan had gone to the police to report that Imran was harassing her, though she stopped short of filing a formal complaint.
Because of his history with drugs, police had him sent to a de-addiction centre. He was let go on July 30, reportedly after harming himself while there.
Police believe Muskan wanted to end things with Imran, but he refused to accept it and kept pursuing her. They suspect his anger grew over the past two months after learning she had been talking to someone else.
The night of the murder
On the evening of August 26, Imran allegedly showed up at Muskan’s house while she was alone at home. The two got into an argument, and he allegedly stabbed her multiple times before fleeing the scene. CCTV footage reportedly shows him entering the building around 5:40 pm.
Deputy commissioner of police (West) Hareshwar V Swami said a PCR call about the stabbing came in at 7:24 pm.
The family’s house help discovered Muskan injured on the second floor and alerted her family, who immediately called the police. She was rushed to the hospital, but doctors pronounced her dead on arrival.
(with inputs from agencies)
