Mohammad Rameez Ahmed Shah, 14, slain by drunk members of a local gang of criminals. A Telegraph picture

Four days after teenager Mohammad Rameez Ahmed Shah was shot near his home at Ayub Nagar, in Garden Reach, the prime accused, Birju, was arrested at a hideout in Metiabruz on Sunday.

Two of Birju’s associates were arrested earlier. Two members of the gang are absconding, said police.

Rameez, 14, was killed last Wednesday, three days before of the wedding reception of two of his uncles, when he stood up against a gang of criminals. The boy, who studied in a local high school, was shot from point-blank range. The bullet got lodged in the brain after piercing his right ear.

On Sunday, the Shahs — who claim to be descendants of Tipu Sultan — performed the last rites of Rameez.

“Birju has a criminal record and had been arrested earlier. He was the one who opened fire on Wednesday. We will interrogate him to find out about his associates,” said superintendent of South 24-Parganas police S.N. Gupta.

Birju, in his mid-20s, dealt in country liquor and ran a satta racket in the Garden Reach-Metiabruz belt, said an officer of the Nadiyal police station.

Birju and his associate Akbar Ali, also wanted in the case, had been arrested earlier for kidnapping the owner of a medicine shop in Mominpur.

There are other robbery and abduction charges against the five. One of them, Rajju, held on Thursday, had been arrested for stabbing a local youth two months ago.

On Sunday, the police team raided Birju’s hideout as soon as he returned to it from outside. The area was cordoned off to prevent him from fleeing.

The teenager’s uncle, Mohammad Hamid Ahmed Shah, recounted: “The drunk gang members had barged into the house and were trying to pull down the shamiana in the front courtyard. Rameez and the two grooms-to-be resisted the bid. The criminals retreated, only to come back with country-made pistols. The family members and some of the wedding guests tried to chase them away.”

The uncle added: “Once the goons reached a field nearby, they opened fire. Everyone ran for cover. But Rameez headed straight for one of the goons, who has been identified as Birju. He shot Rameez dead,” added Hamid.