UP serial killer driving app cab in Kol arrested from Ripon Street
Times of India | 19 November 2025
Kolkata: A serial killer and most wanted gangster from UP with 20 cases of rape, attempt to murder, and robbery — one who jumped parole in June earlier this year after being released from Tihar Jail — was arrested by Park Street PS on Tuesday after being tipped off by the Delhi Police Special Cell.
The accused, Md Sohrab, was found hiding in the city for the past five months and even working as app-bike rider and cab driver here. The UP ATS, who had been tracking the accused, was under the assumption that he went to Nepal through Moradabad.
"Instead, he came to Kolkata, initially put up in a hotel, and then hired a room at Ripon Street five months ago," said an officer.
The arrest took place around 2.30 pm in front of 94 Ripon Street, near the Special Branch office of Kolkata Police. Sohrab (38), hailing from Sadar Cantt, Nai Busty in Lucknow, was evading cops since absconding from Tihar Jail in June. Both Delhi and UP cops were trying to track him down.
The operation was initiated after a team from the Delhi Police Special Cell arrived at Park Street PS, seeking help for a raid and search operation within the jurisdiction.
This was in connection with case under sections 221, 132 of the BNS and the Arms Act registered by the Delhi Police Special Cell. "The search, aided by technical support, culminated in Sohrab's arrest," said a Joint CP of Delhi Police.
DC (south, KP) Priyabrata Roy said, "He is also involved in around 20 criminal cases, which include seven murder cases, multiple attempts to murder cases, and also robberies in UP and Delhi."
The arrest has once again raised question on whether Kolkata is being used by criminals from Rajasthan, Punjab, and Delhi as a safe hideout, given the spate of arrests of such interstate criminals in the past couple of years. Similarly, questions on verification of app-bike riders are under scrutiny, given that a serial killer managed to ride for so long, evading the security protocols in place.
Sohrab's criminal activities have long been a source of terror in Lucknow and beyond. Alongside his brothers, Salim and Rustam, he was implicated in heinous crimes, including politically motivated killings and extortion. The trio, notorious for their audacious criminal operations, was incarcerated in Tihar Jail for several years. However, Sohrab was granted parole, which ended on July 1, but he failed to return, sparking a massive manhunt.