A murder in Delhi, a headless torso in Mumbai: Inside a 30-year hunt for two fugitive brothers

September 27, 1996, had been a long day for Ishtiaq Ahmad.The 27-year-old wholesale clothes trader stretched his back inside a rented room in Raghubir Nagar after spending the day buying second-hand clothes at a trading market about 2 km away. He had travelled from Moradabad with his four brothers for the wholesale trade.Raghubir Nagar, part of West Delhi’s Rajouri Garden, was then one of the capital’s busiest shopping hubs, known for its textile markets as much as its chole-bhature stalls.Ishtiaq had been at work since 5 am, haggling with traders while bidding for bundles of clothes. “He and his brothers were at the market along with their neighbour from Moradabad, Shah Nawaz, also a clothes trader,” said a police officer. Shah Nawaz and one of Ishtiaq’s brothers, Sharafat Ali, had their