Outside Arif’s home in Bhajanpura on Monday. (Amit Mehra)
Within a span of three hours and 45 minutes, four men on bikes pumped over 50 bullets into two men in two separate localities of northeast Delhi on Sunday. Police suspect the assailants in both cases are the same — they were riding similar bikes and used the same modus operandi. While police have refused to confirm if the murders were a result of a gang war, sources said they are probing the case from this angle as well. “We cannot talk about the motive until the accused have been arrested. We have been questioning people in both localities to ascertain the possible reasons. We have registered a case of murder in both incidents,” DCP (northeast) A K Singla said.
According to police, the first shooting took place around 9.30 pm on Sunday evening. The victim, Mohammad Wajid (35) and his friend, Mohammad Faiz (29), were standing near Gali number 7 in Brahmpuri when the assailants — on an FZ Yamaha and an Apache — drove past and fired at the duo. “The assailants shot Wajid over 20 times. Faiz tried to run but the bikers gave chase and shot him eight times. The men were taken to GTB Hospital, where Wajid was pronounced dead. Faiz is critical,” said a police officer. Police sources said they have retrieved footage of the shooting from seven CCTV cameras in the area.
Three kilometres away in Bhajanpura, 23-year-old Arif Hussain alias Raza paced around his room as he told his sister about the murder. “He said it was all over the news, that a man was shot dead by assailants on a bike in Brahmpuri. He looked tensed… my father asked him to sleep,” his sister told The Indian Express.
While the family went to bed, his sister said Arif decided to stay up. Around 1 am, he received a call and went out of the house. “He stood outside, waiting for someone… he fed biscuits to the dogs. Suddenly, I heard some bikes stop outside our house… and what sounded like fire crackers,” she said. His sister tried to step out to see what had happened when the doors opened and Arif, who was bleeding, rushed inside followed by a man wielding guns. “The man was wearing an orange t-shirt. He shot Arif in the foot and twice in the head. He continued to fire till he ran out of bullets,” she said.
CCTV footage shows Arif being shot 30 times. Express
Arif’s father, Zakir Hussain, called PCR at 1.15 am, and a police team took his body to GTB Hospital. “My son was a BCom graduate… he was going to apply to Delhi Police. I think some gangsters killed him; but my son was not involved. He never got into fights,” the father said.
Police said they have retrieved CCTV footage which purportedly shows Arif being shot at least 30 times. Police sources suspect the two men may have been involved with the Chenu gang but have not been able to ascertain their roles yet. “Wajid has several cases registered against him while we found none against Arif. We are yet to find a link between the two men. We suspect the murders may have been carried out by members of the Nasir gang. From the CCTV footage of both incidents, the bikes the assailants were riding look the same,” a police source said.
Anand Mohan J is an award-winning Senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, currently leading the bureau’s coverage of Madhya Pradesh. With a career spanning over eight years, he has established himself as a trusted voice at the intersection of law, internal security, and public policy.
Based in Bhopal, Anand is widely recognized for his authoritative reporting on Maoist insurgency in Central India. In late 2025, he provided exclusive, ground-level coverage of the historic surrender of the final Maoist cadres in Madhya Pradesh, detailing the backchannel negotiations and the "vacuum of command" that led to the state being declared Maoist-free.
Expertise and Reporting Beats
Anand’s investigative work is characterized by a "Journalism of Courage" approach, holding institutions accountable through deep-dive analysis of several key sectors:
National Security & Counter-Insurgency: He is a primary chronicler of the decline of Naxalism in the Central Indian corridor, documenting the tactical shifts of security forces and the rehabilitation of surrendered cadres.
Judiciary & Legal Accountability: Drawing on over four years of experience covering Delhi’s trial courts and the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Anand deconstructs complex legal rulings. He has exposed critical institutional lapses, including custodial safety violations and the misuse of the National Security Act (NSA).
Wildlife Conservation (Project Cheetah): Anand is a leading reporter on Project Cheetah at Kuno National Park. He has provided extensive coverage of the biological and administrative hurdles of rewilding Namibian and South African cheetahs, as well as high-profile cases of wildlife trafficking.
Public Health & Social Safety: His recent investigative work has uncovered systemic negligence in public services, such as contaminated blood transfusions causing HIV infections in thalassemia patients and the human cost of the fertilizer crisis affecting rural farmers.
Professional Background
Tenure: Joined The Indian Express in 2017.
Locations: Transitioned from the high-pressure Delhi City beat (covering courts, police, and labor issues) to his current role as a regional lead in Madhya Pradesh.
Notable Investigations: * Exposed the "digital arrest" scams targeting entrepreneurs.
Investigated the Bandhavgarh elephant deaths and the impact of kodo millet fungus on local wildlife.
Documented the transition of power and welfare schemes (like Ladli Behna) in Madhya Pradesh governance.
Digital & Professional Presence
Author Profile: Anand Mohan J at Indian Express
Twitter handle: @mohanreports ... Read More
4 min read
Outside Arif’s home in Bhajanpura on Monday. (Amit Mehra)
CCTV footage shows Arif being shot 30 times. Express
