Two brothers, both convicted to life imprisonment in a 1996 Delhi murder case and absconding for nearly a decade, have been arrested by the Delhi Police, officials said on Tuesday. One of them is also wanted in a Mumbai contract killing case in which the police alleged he murdered a man for Rs 2 lakh, dismembered the body and dumped the torso to conceal the victim’s identity.

The accused, Firasat Ali (56) and Shah Nawaz Ali (51), were arrested in coordinated raids conducted at Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh and Godda in Jharkhand, respectively.

According to investigators, the brothers were convicted in a 1996 murder case in Delhi. However, after the Delhi High Court upheld their life sentence and dismissed their appeal in 2016, they failed to surrender and remained on the run. The police said Firasat Ali was also a proclaimed offender in a 2006 Mumbai contract killing case.

According to investigators, an unidentified human torso wrapped in a plastic bag was recovered near Bhindi Bazar in Mumbai in May 2006. The head and limbs were missing. During investigation, the Mumbai Police identified the deceased as Kisan Kharva and alleged that his wife had hired Firasat Ali and another accused to kill him for Rs 2 lakh.

The investigators alleged that Firasat Ali murdered Kharva, severed the head and limbs and disposed of the body parts at different locations to conceal the victim’s identity. He was arrested by the Mumbai Police in 2018 and was granted bail by the Bombay High Court in 2021. However, he later absconded during the trial and was declared a proclaimed offender.

The brothers were originally convicted in connection with a 1996 murder in Delhi’s Rajouri Garden. According to police, the case stemmed from an altercation over the purchase of an old saree at a clothes market in Raghubir Nagar.

Later that day, Shah Nawaz, along with Firasat Ali, Arshad Ali and an associate, allegedly entered the complainant’s house armed with knives and attacked the occupants. Ishtiaq Ahmed, alias Pappu, succumbed to multiple stab injuries, while two others were injured.

The accused were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by a Delhi sessions court in 2000. They were granted bail during the pendency of their appeal. However, they failed to surrender after the Delhi High Court upheld their conviction in 2016.

During interrogation, the brothers admitted to frequently changing hideouts across Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Jharkhand while working as clothes merchants to evade arrest, the Crime Branch said.

Both have now been lodged in Tihar Jail. The Mumbai Police have been informed about Firasat Ali’s arrest.