NEW DELHI: After evading authorities for more than 26 years, a man wanted for a 1999 murder in Saudi Arabia was arrested earlier this week by the CBI, officials said Saturday.
Mohammad Dilshad was apprehended at Indira Gandhi International Airport on August 11 as he returned from Madinah via Jeddah, traveling under a false identity and passport.
Officials stated that Dilshad, who had worked as a heavy motor mechanic and security guard in Riyadh, allegedly committed the murder at his workplace in 1999. He managed to escape Saudi authorities and flee to India, where he obtained a new identity and passport through fraudulent means. Using these documents, Dilshad continued to elude law enforcement while making frequent trips to Gulf countries.
The CBI took over the case in April 2022 at Saudi Arabia’s request to trace and prosecute the absconder locally. The agency tracked Dilshad to his native village in Bijnor district, Uttar Pradesh, and issued a look-out circular (LOC). However, the LOC proved ineffective as it was based on his old travel documents, allowing him to continue traveling internationally.
“Investigations revealed that Dilshad regularly traveled to Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia using the identity he had fraudulently obtained,” a CBI spokesperson said. The agency employed technical leads and human intelligence to identify his new passport, leading to the issuance of a fresh LOC.
Unaware of the development, Dilshad arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport on August 11. The immigration department alerted the CBI, and he was immediately taken into custody.
