New Delhi: Delhi Police‘s special cell has foiled a targeted hit on a critical prosecution witness, a plot allegedly orchestrated from behind the bars at Mandoli Jail. The police arrested four individuals, including the alleged mastermind, Irfan alias Chhenu Pehalwan.Additional commissioner Pramod Singh Kushwaha said the group was allegedly plotting to eliminate the witness to weaken the case. The identity of the witness and details of the case have been withheld for safety reasons.The operation began on the night of Jan 24 with a raid near JPC Hospital in Shastri Park where cops arrested 22-year-old Adeeb of Chauhan Banger and seized a semi-automatic pistol and five live cartridges. Adeeb told investigators that the hit had been ordered by Irfan, who was lodged in jail in multiple cases of murder and extortion.Usman, a close family associate, allegedly routed “blood money” through a tea stall in Seelampur to fund the shooters. Follow-up raids on Jan 26 and 27 led to the arrests of Usman and Farman. Later Irfan was formally arrested on Jan 28. Police said Adeeb, the youngest accused, was lured with advance payments, while Farman, whom he met at a drug rehabilitation centre, was supplied with live ammunition to assist in the murder.“With the recovery of a pistol, 10 live cartridges and mobile phones, Sections 55 and 61(2) of the BNS have been invoked, pointing to an organised conspiracy,” DCP Amit Kaushik said. Police are now probing the source of the weapon and checking whether other witnesses were on Irfan’s hit list.Currently Tihar and Mandoli jails are without a director general.In the wake of the case, the special cell has been directed to tighten witness protection in organised crime matters. The move follows the killing of Rachna Yadav, a prosecution witness in her husband’s murder case.
