51-year-old arrested for murder after 31 years
Narain was declared a proclaimed offender in the murder case that was registered at the Narela police station in 1993.
The Delhi Police said it has arrested a 51-year-old man wanted in a murder case nearly 31 years ago from Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, adding that the accused killed the victim because he had refused to marry his daughter off to the former’s native village.
The members of the crime branch team that arrested the accused, identified as Prem Narain, impersonated caterers during the wedding of his nephew to nab him. They also posed as decoy builders in Kanpur after learning that Narain had been working there as a mason, officers said.
Narain was declared a proclaimed offender in the murder case that was registered at the Narela police station in 1993, they said, adding that he was 20 at the time of the crime.
Sharing details of the case, deputy commissioner of police (crime) Amit Goel said that on September 18, 1993, the body of a man, identified as Shambhu Dayal, was found in the Narela area in outer Delhi. A case was registered, and the initial probe revealed that Dayal had an altercation with at least four people who had come to his jhuggi on September 17, 1993, and threatened him. The four people, three of whom were from a family, wanted Dayal to marry his 18-year-old daughter to a man, Ram Prakash, from their village Bhidora, Banda, Uttar Pradesh.
“The four people included Prem Narain, his father, Munni Lal, uncle, Daya Ram, and neighbour, Babu Lal. Ram Prakash was the nephew of Munni and Daya. Dayal did not want to marry his daughter to the relative of the accused as the prospective groom was unemployed and a drug addict. Also, Dayal had already found a better match for his daughter,” said Goel.
“Dayal did not agree and the accused threatened and abused him on September 17. Thereafter, Dayal went out for some work and did not return. Next day, his body was found in the lane leading to his house. He was hit on the head with a stone. The suspects absconded and three of them – Munni Lal, Daya Ram and Prem Narain – were declared proclaimed offenders in 1994 by a Delhi court. Babu Lal was arrested a few days later,” said DCP Goel.
Earlier this month, the DCP said, the crime branch team started working on the case. A team member, sub-inspector Ritesh Kumar, learnt that Narain may turn up in his native village to attend the wedding of his nephew. The sub-inspector joined as a member of the catering team and mounted strong surveillance over the wedding.
“While Narain’s wife and children attended the wedding, he did not turn up. The officer kept a watch on Narain’s family and got vital inputs that the suspect had been living in Kanpur and working as a mason,” added Goel.
S-I Kumar and his other team went to Kanpur and met several local builders to know his whereabouts. They contacted several masons by impersonating builders. Among the people they met was Narain’s son, Nitin.
“Through a local builder and Nitin, Narain was called for a meeting and was caught when he turned up. Narain confessed to his involvement in the crime and disclosed that he, along with his father and uncle, fled to Kanpur after the crime to evade arrest. He changed his voter ID and ration card and started living in Kanpur along with his family. He closed all the contacts in his village to avoid his arrest,” added Goel.
Munni Lal was arrested in 2014 and is presently out on judicial bail and living in his native village. Narain’s uncle, Daya Ram, is still evading arrest, police said.