Contract killer arrested in Lucknow

A man from Haryana wanted in three triple murder cases was arrested by the Delhi Police's crime branch from Lucknow where he had gone to meet his girlfriend, officials said Friday.

With the arrest of the accused contract killer Vijay Farmana, a resident of Sonipat in Haryana, the police claimed to have solved 11 cases of murder and various robbery, rape, attempt to murder and car jackings cases in Delhi and Haryana.

According to the police, the accused had taken a contract to kill a politician in Nagaland after the general elections.

In April, Farmana, along with associates Sharad Pandey and Kapil Chitania, went to the northeastern state and got a contract to kill a political leader (name not revealed), officials said, adding Pandey had taken the contract for Rs 80 lakh.

"The accused was arrested after police managed to track his location to Lucknow. He was nabbed when he was with his girlfriend at a mall in Gomti Nagar area there," Additional Commissioner of Police (crime) Rajiv Ranjan said.

Delhi Police had announced a cash reward of Rs 50,000 on information leading to Farmana's arrest. Haryana police had declared two cash rewards of Rs 50,000 and Rs 10,000 for the gangster's arrest, the officer said.

In the last few months, luxury vehicles were being stolen after their drivers were kidnapped at gunpoint, he added.

During interrogation, the accused disclosed to have committed 11 murders in total, and an attempt to murder in Haryana.

"Farmana and with his associates are members of a syndicate involved in several cases of carjacking. They have stolen various luxury vehicles, including Fortuner, Ford Endeavour, Innova Crysta, Creta, from the area outside Vasant Kunj Mall, Saket Mall, Vasant Vihar in Gurgaon, IGI Airport and on national highways," Ranjan said.

The stolen vehicles would be sold in northeastern states and Nepal, he added.