The Delhi Police has arrested a 32-year-old national-level wrestler-turned arms dealer, alleged to be involved in several serious crimes, an officer said on Saturday.
Sonu Langada alias Pahalwan, police said, turned to supplying illegal arms to criminals after a road accident led to the amputation of his leg. He was nabbed after being on the run for nearly eight years.
Sonu Langada was captured on May 29 from his native village in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat, the officer said. He had been declared a proclaimed offender on June 29, 2017, in connection with an arms supply case.
He has a long history of crimes with involvement in at least six serious cases, including murder, rape, kidnapping, dacoity, and under the SC/ST Act, Arms Act, and excise violations, across police stations in Uttar Pradesh, the officer said.
Also read: ‘Who Will Care…?’: Delhi teen’s drunk driving wrecks family
While he went on his crime spree, Sonu lived with his family in the village and did farming.
He was arrested in connection with the murder of a cable operator on April 6, 2016.
Back then, the Crime Branch received inputs that two individuals – Rahul alias Sunny and Vikas alias Vicky — suspected of murdering the cable operator, were planning a retaliatory attack in Rohini, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Apoorva Gupta said.
Both suspects were arrested with a pistol, a country-made firearm, and 10 bullets in their possession and gave up Sonu Langada as the supplier of the arms under grilling, she said.
Sonu Langada managed to dodge police despite several raids for eight years, till he was traced to his village, the DCP said.
During interrogation, he said that he had been a promising national-level wrestler until his leg was amputated after a road accident in 2013. Struggling to make ends meet, he took to crime to support his family, the officer said.
Also read: Man sentenced to 20 years RI for raping minor daughter
“He aligned with local gangs and became an active player in the illicit arms trade, also supplying liquor to various criminal networks,” she added.
AQI rises to 208, slipping into ‘poor’ category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board
Dilli 6 – Ishq-e-Dilli at Edesia presents a carefully sequenced journey through familiar flavours from…
Two youth arrested for killing a 55-year-old woman during a robbery in Jyoti Nagar; stolen…
Scheme aims to provide affordable meals to over 1 lakh people daily, with each canteen…
Featuring works by Krishen Khanna and Prabhakar Kolte, the exhibition explores Indian modernism through figurative…
Police are probing the stabbing death of a 36-year-old man found near Sanjay Lake in…
