12 years, two lives: Man accused of murder nabbed in Delhi after skipping bail

Rajeev Kumar, a fugitive for 12 years after a 2009 murder case, was arrested in Delhi while secretly visiting family. He had assumed a new identity.

For 12 years, Rajeev Kumar lived a lie. After jumping interim bail in 2013 while facing trial for a 2009 kidnapping and murder case, he vanished—changing several names, locations, and even marrying again to avoid detection. The 45-year-old was finally arrested on Wednesday in Prem Nagar by the Delhi Police’s crime branch.

12 years, two lives: Man accused of murder nabbed in Delhi after skipping bail

Kumar had been declared a proclaimed offender after skipping bail granted for his mother’s funeral. What followed was a meticulously planned vanishing act.

He first fled to Nepal, where he stayed for six months, then assumed the name “Bobby” and settled in Bengaluru. There, he created new identification documents under the false name, changed his father’s name, and started life anew as a driver. He also married a local woman—never revealing his criminal past, nor that he was already married to a Nepali woman in 2009.

“He made sure to stay off the radar. It was only when he began visiting his Delhi-based family secretly once a year that we got a break,” said deputy commissioner of police (crime) Harsh Indora.

Kumar’s undoing came when inspector Pukhraj Singh of the crime branch’s northern range-1 received a tip-off about his visit to Delhi to meet his father, first wife, and children. A trap was laid, and he was arrested.

Kumar was one of three people accused in the 2009 kidnapping and murder of 22-year-old Sunil Kumar in Burari. Sunil was allegedly in a relationship with Kumar’s cousin and continued to pursue her even after her family arranged her marriage. On December 27, 2009, Sunil went missing. His father filed a missing person’s complaint, which later turned into a murder case after Sunil’s body was found. Rajeev Kumar, his father Shiv Dyal, and an associate were arrested.

While the others remained in custody, Rajeev Kumar secured a 15-day bail in 2013—and never returned. “After absconding, he severed all direct ties with his family, which made tracking him difficult. Only recently did we manage to trace his new mobile number, taken under a fake identity,” said a senior officer. Technical surveillance showed the number was active in Bengaluru, but before a team could be dispatched, the informant’s tip allowed police to apprehend him in Delhi.

Kumar is now back in custody, and will face trial for murder, conspiracy, and destruction of evidence.