Man accused in murder case held from Bihar after 24 years
According to officers, the accused, identified as Sakender Yadav, changed multiple cities and jobs to avoid the police dragnet
The Delhi Police’s crime branch has arrested a 44-year-old man, who was evading the law for over 24 years in a murder case, from his native village in Nalanda, Bihar, senior police officers aware of the matter said on Saturday.
According to officers, the accused, identified as Sakender Yadav, changed multiple cities and jobs to avoid the police dragnet. He was declared a proclaimed offender (PO) in the murder case registered in February 2000 at the Uttam Nagar police station.
Deputy commissioner of police (crime) Satish Kumar said that recently, multiple teams of the crime branch were tasked to probe old and dead cases, especially those related to murder, dacoity and robbery, and nab those evading arrest.
“The teams collect details and start a fresh investigation. Accordingly, raids are conducted at the hideouts of the suspects, and they are caught,” said a senior crime branch officer, who is part of one such team.
Sharing details of the present case, DCP Kumar said that on February 4, 2000, one Chando Yadav, a native of Devkali village in Nalanda, filed a complaint regarding his missing brother, Ram Swaroop alias Modi Yadav, 32.
The complainant told police that Swaroop worked in a polythene factory at Matiala, west Delhi, and was last seen working there along with Mantu Yadav, Sakender, and Vijay Yadav, all natives of Nalanda. The factory belonged to one Pappu Yadav.
“During the inquiry, it was learnt that while other workers had returned to their homes in Bihar, Swaroop did not. The team questioned the factory owner, who claimed that Swaroop had left the factory to work elsewhere. A few days later, Swaroop’s decomposed body was found in Pappu’s factory, covered with a heap of plastic bags. A murder case was registered at the Uttam Nagar police station,” said DCP Kumar.
The team arrested Mantu Yadav but the remaining suspects – Pappu, Vijay Yadav, and Sakender – could not be traced and a city court concerned declared them POs.
“The northern range 1 team recently got inputs that Sakender, who presently lives in Patna, would visit Devkali for some work. A team was sent to his village, and he was caught,” added DCP Kumar.
“Sakender disclosed that he was involved in Swaroop’s murder along with the co-accused. They murdered Swaroop over an altercation he had with Pappu. They dumped the body, concealing it under layers of raw plastics in a room within the factory and locked it from the outside. Sakender lived in Surat for the initial two to three years, where he worked in a cloth mill. Then he moved to Patna where he worked as a labourer and later, he got a job in a grocery home delivery company in Patna,” added DCP Kumar.