A 61-year-old man was arrested from west Delhi's Vishnu Garden 26-years-after he jumped parole in a murder case. The accused was working as a private security guard for a residential enclave in Vishnu Garden, police said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, south district, Ishwar Singh said the accused identified as Onkar Singh alias ladda, was declared a Proclaimed Offender by a Delhi court in 1991.
The Vigilance Branch of South District has been involved in studying profiles of proclaimed offenders who have been almost forgotten, said the police officer.
During one such operation, police started studying the profile of Singh. Information about him was accessed and he was arrested from Vishnu Garden on Sunday, said the DCP.
Singh, along with his associates Devinder Kumar, Amar Pal Singh and Ravinder Kumar, killed Parminder Kumar (25) on the evening of November 25, 1980.
Parminder sold readymade garments in Central Delhi's Paharganj. Ravinder had purchased a jersey from Parminder for Rs 55. He had paid Rs 20 and had promised to pay the remaining amount later, he added.
However, Ravinder did not pay the balance amount and this led to a dispute between them.
On November 25, when Parminder had gone to attend a jagran, he saw Ravinder along with his friends. When Parminder demanded Rs 35, Ravinder and Amar and stabbed him multiple times on his abdomen and chest.
After committing the crime, the accused fled from the spot. Parminder was declared brought dead by the doctors. Subsequently, the 4 accused were arrested.
On May 15, 1982, Ravinder and Singh were sentenced to life imprisonment while the remaining two accused were acquitted.
Singh had filed appeals in the High Court and the apex court but they were dismissed and his conviction was upheld. He remained in judicial custody till 1989 and applied for parole in the same year to get married. After getting married, he surrendered. later, he again applied for parole in 1991 and after being granted parole, he did not return.
Subsequently, on November 21, 1991, he was declared a Proclaimed Offender. After jumping parole, he kept shifting from one city to another and for short periods, lived in ludhiana, Bikaner, Haridwar, Ghaziabad and Modinagar.
He returned to Delhi where he stayed in Raghubir Nagar, Bhajanpura, Uttam Nagar, etc. before finally coming to stay in Vishnu Garden in west Delhi, said the DCP.
He got a job with a private security agency in Tilak Nagar and started working as a private security guard. He was currently deployed at Ganga Ram Vatika, Vishnu Garden.
Being sure that he was not being followed now, he had started living with his wife, a son and a daughter, said the senior police officer.