Murder convict held in Delhi after 20 years on run, was working as security guard

Faridabad Police tracked the fugitive across 35 locations before arresting him in Mandawali. He had changed his appearance and identity to evade capture.

A man convicted of murdering his girlfriend was arrested from Chander Vihar in Mandawali, Delhi, after remaining on the run for nearly 20 years, Faridabad police said on Monday.

The life convict was traced through human intelligence and surveillance after skipping court appearances while out on bail granted by the high court. (File photo)

The 47-year-old, who hailed from Delhi’s Pandav Nagar, had allegedly changed his identity and appearance by growing a beard and hair, avoided social media and smartphones, and took low-profile jobs to evade arrest, police said. He was working as a security guard when he was arrested on Saturday.

According to police, the Sector 65 crime branch unit headed by inspector Joginder Singh had been tracking him for the past year. He was produced before a Faridabad court on Sunday after questioning and was sent to judicial custody.

A crime branch official said the convict shot dead his girlfriend in Surajkund on April 19, 2001, following a dispute in their relationship. He was arrested on April 29, and a chargesheet was filed. On July 10, 2002, a Faridabad sessions court convicted him under IPC Section 302 and the Arms Act, sentencing him to life imprisonment and imposing a ₹20,000 fine.

Police said he later challenged the conviction in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which granted him bail in May 2006. He subsequently absconded. Officials said the HC later rejected the convict’s regular bail application and remanded the matter to the lower court, which subsequently issued an arrest warrant after he absconded.

Yashpal Yadav, public relations officer of Faridabad police, said the convict stayed at his Delhi residence for some time before becoming untraceable. “Court and police came to know that he was on the run only after he started skipping his appearances during hearings, following which an arrest warrant was issued but could never be executed over the next two decades,” he said.

Inspector Singh said police raided 35 locations across Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh over the past year, scanned relatives’ locations, tracked a lead from Baghpat and deployed surveillance in Chander Vihar for 15 days before arresting him. “How did you all reach me?” he allegedly said upon being confronted.

Officers said the convict was identified by matching him with an old photograph and corroborating the lead through human intelligence gathered from his relatives.

According to police, he was arrested on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by the sessions court after he absconded. With his arrest and judicial custody, he will now serve the life sentence awarded by the lower court after his appeal was rejected.