Nigerian covered 2,500km in taxis to evade arrest

NEWDELHI: The Delhi Police on Saturday said they have arrested a 35-year-old Nigerian national for allegedly killing another Nigerian during clashes that erupted between two groups at three different places in south Delhi last Friday night.

Romil Baaniya, deputy commissioner of police (south), said Osaretin alias Ogbuku was arrested from Bihar’s Kishanganj on Thursday while he was on his way to Assam with his fellow countryman in a cab, which they had hired in Jalandhar, Punjab.

Fearing that police might track down his Jalandhar location, Osaretin along with his friend, Victor, decided to hide in Assam for some days and then cross over to Nepal. However, Osaretin’s plan was cut short by police, who got their locations with the help of the cab’s GPS and caught the duo with the help of Bihar police.

An investigating officer said Osaretin travelled at least 2,500 km in six days — between March 9 when he along with his three compatriots stabbed and killed Hillary alias Harry in Chhatarpur area, and March 15, the day of his arrest. He hired four different cabs to travel the distance. Victor has not been arrested as he was not involved in Hillary’s murder.

Explaining the sequence of events, the officer said that on March 9 night, two groups of Nigerians allegedly clashed in Rajpur Khurd Extension. Osaretin’s rival group allegedly attacked his associate Arumala Kueve and left him injured.

When Kueve’s group members, including Osaretin, Addi, Nelson and Omokoro, learnt about the attack, they began chasing their rival group. The four hired a cab and were chasing their rivals when they spotted Hillary near Chhatarpur temple and attacked him.

“Osaretin allegedly stabbed Hillary below his chest and he collapsed,” said the officer.

The four then asked the cabbie to drop them to Greater Noida. They reached Greater Noida and fled in different directions in separate cabs, said police.

Osaretin left for Jalandhar in a hired cab and met his friend Victor, who is studying in a private university and lives in a hostel. “Osaretin dumped his mobile phone and the knife he had used to kill Hillary. He stayed at Victor’s place for a day and planned their future course of action,” the officer said.

During the same time, the investigating team too reached Jalandhar by tracking down Osaretin’s movements with his cellphone’s location. Investigators identified the two cabs and the drivers, who had dropped Osaretin in Greater Noida and Jalandhar, respectively. As they knew about Osaretin’s friendship with Victor, they went to Victor’s hostel and learnt that the duo had left for an unknown destination.

“We then contacted some private cab service operators and learnt that Osaretin and Victor had already left for Assam in a cab. We tracked their locations with the cab’s GPS and Victor’s cellphone locations and eventually nabbed them in Kishanganj with the help of the local police,” said the officer, adding efforts were on to nab the other absconding Nigerians.