A 70-year-old murder convict who vanished from Uttar Pradesh nearly three decades ago, changing his name, appearance and even his religion to stay hidden, has finally been arrested, the Bareilly police said on Thursday.
Pradeep Kumar Saxena, convicted in 1989 for murdering his brother Sanjeev two years earlier, was picked up from Delapeer Mandi in Bareilly after a brief search operation.
Police officials said Saxena had been living under the name Abdul Raheem in Moradabad district for years, working as a driver and keeping a low profile.
A new identity in Moradabad
According to the Prem Nagar police, Saxena had secured parole in 1989 but never returned to jail. “After jumping parole, he altered his appearance, kept a long beard, and even converted to Islam so he could not be traced,” an officer said, adding that Saxena deliberately created a new life for himself.
The case resurfaced after the Allahabad High Court, while hearing Pradeep Kumar Saxena’s long-pending criminal appeal, directed in an order on October 16 that he be arrested and produced before the Bareilly court within four weeks.
{{/usCountry}}The case resurfaced after the Allahabad High Court, while hearing Pradeep Kumar Saxena’s long-pending criminal appeal, directed in an order on October 16 that he be arrested and produced before the Bareilly court within four weeks.
{{/usCountry}}Acting on the court’s instructions, the Bareilly police formed a special team and began the search operation.
While retracing Saxwna's trail, the police learnt from his family that he had left his parental home in Bareilly’s Kasva area roughly 30 years ago. His brother, Suresh Babu, told the cops that Saxena had moved to the Karula area of Moradabad after converting to Islam and was working as a driver.
When the police made inquiries in Karula, residents pointed them towards a man known locally as “Saxena Driver”, who had been living there for nearly three decades. They identified him as Abdul Raheem.
But the search did not end here, verification at Transport Nagar revealed he had travelled to Bareilly earlier that day.
Caught after a tip-off
An informant finally alerted the police about a suspicious man near Delapeer Mandi. When officers approached him, he identified himself as Abdul Raheem.
But after being confronted with old documents and evidence, he eventually admitted he was Pradeep Kumar Saxena, officials said.
“He stated that he was released on parole in 1989, after which he shifted to Moradabad, and to avoid court proceedings, he converted his religion in 2002 and changed his name to Abdul Rahim alias Saxena Driver,” a press statement from Bareilly police read.