Man wanted for murder apprehended after 30 years

Gurugram: Police arrested a 65-year-old regional film actor in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, on Monday for allegedly murdering a Bhiwani resident in 1992

Gurugram: Police arrested a 65-year-old regional film actor in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, on Monday for allegedly murdering a Bhiwani resident in 1992. Om Prakash aka Pasa, from Samalkha in Panipat, a former armyman on the run for the last three decades, had severed all ties with his family, changed his identity and begun a new life, police said.

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According to Sumit Kuhar, superintendent of police, Special Task Force (STF), Haryana, Pasa was dismissed from Indian Army’s signal corps in 1984 because he failed to report back to duty after taking leave. “After 12 years in the army, Pasa started committing petty crimes, with his friend as accomplice. Both were booked for snatching incidents, car lifting, robbery, and murder. They went to Bhiwani on January 15, 1992 with the plan of snatching a vehicle. They spotted a man on a motorcycle late at night, intercepted him, and stabbed him when he tried to resist the robbery attempt. The victim died on spot and the duo fled to Rajasthan,” he said.

The deceased man belonged to Faruukhnagar and worked in the Bhiwani industrial area. Pasa and his friend were identified from the numberplate of their scooter which police found parked a few kilometres away from the murder site. “Both of them fled to Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan from where they parted ways and Pasa’s friend went to his village. Pasa lived in different areas of Rajasthan for nine months before fleeing to Tamil Nadu,” Kuhar added.

Pasa’s friend was arrested in 1992 and was released after completing his two-year sentence. Pasa, meanwhile, worked for three years with a local transporter in Tamil Nadu and shifted to Ghaziabad in 2007.

Pasa was married when he committed his first crime, but his wife died after a prolonged ailment, police said. He worked as a truck driver for many years and built a house on a 60-yard plot in Ghaziabad. He also married a local woman who was unaware of his criminal background, police said. “He severed all ties with his family members and never went back to his village. He started a new life and obtained a forged identity card, driving license, and voter ID card to evade arrest. His three children were also unaware of his criminal past,” he said.

Kuhar said Pasa joined a local theatre group in Ghaziabad and started acting, his dream since childhood. “He worked in 28 regional films since 2007, but continued to commit petty crimes whenever he needed money. We are yet to verify the cases. He was declared as a proclaimed offender and a reward of ₹25,000 was announced for his arrest on August 26,2020,” he added.

The STF team received a tip-off last month while working on a list of proclaimed offenders, and tracked Pasa down to Ghaziabad using technical surveillance. Officers were deployed in plainclothes near his house early morning on Monday. He was apprehended when he returned from work, police said.

According to Kuhar, Pasa confessed to the crime and revealed all details of him being on the run.