A police official said that the CBI took over the case in April 2022 at the request of Saudi Arabia to trace and locally prosecute the absconder. File
On the run for over 26 years, a man was arrested earlier this week by CBI on the charge of a 1999 murder in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, an official said on Saturday (August 16, 2025).
Mohammad Dilshad was nabbed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here on August 11 as he returned from Madinah via Jeddah under a new identity and passport.
According to officials, Dilshad, who worked as a heavy motor mechanic and security guard in Riyadh, allegedly murdered an individual at his place of work in 1999.
He gave a slip to Saudi authorities and fled to India, where he assumed a new identity and passport through deceptive means, they said, adding Dilshad continued to evade law enforcement using the new passport, which allowed him to frequently visit Gulf countries during the period.
The CBI took over the case in April 2022 at the request of Saudi Arabia to trace and locally prosecute the absconder, an official said.
The federal probe agency tracked Dilshad’s native village in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor district, following which a look-out circular (LOC) was issued.
However, that did not prove effective as he continued to travel internationally because the LOC was issued based on his old travel documents.
“During the course of investigation, it was found out that Dilshad used to travel to Qatar, Kuwait and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia based on the identity he acquired by deceitful means,” a CBI spokesperson said.
She said the agency developed various technical leads and human intelligence, which helped it detect the new passport, resulting in the issuance of a fresh LOC.
Not knowing about the development, Dilshad conveniently arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport on August 11, returning from Madinah via Jeddah. Upon his arrival, the immigration department alerted CBI, and the accused was taken into custody.
Published – August 16, 2025 11:47 am IST
