A contract killer and accused in BSP legislator Raju Pal’s murder, Gurfan was arrested by the Colonelganj police near the Collectorate. A rifle has been recovered from his possession.

Wanted in several cases, Gurfan’s name had figured during re-investigation into Pal’s murder by the Shahganj police.

Station Officer (Shahganj) N S Parihar said Gufran and Khalid Azim alias Ashraf, the brother of Atiq Ahmad, were the main accused in murder. Gufran had fired at Pal in Chauphatka while he was on his way home on January 25, 2005. Pal later succumbed to death in a private hospital.

“He will be a major lead in the case and with his arrest, we will expedite probe into the Raju Pal murder case,” said Senior Superintendent of Police B P Tiwari.

Colonelganj Inspector V K Srivastava said on basis of the information provided by Gurfan, a team has been sent to recover a pistol from his village in Jhusi. “Now, our aim is to arrest Ashraf, an absconder declared by the court,” he added.