Man held in Delhi after 13 years for cousin-linked murder

Thirteen years after jumping interim bail, a 45-year-old man accused of murdering a youth over a relationship with his cousin has been arrested by the Delhi Police.

The accused, identified as Rajeev, a resident of Prem Nagar, had been absconding since 2013 and was living under fake identities across various states, police said on Thursday. He was arrested earlier this week after returning briefly to his family home.

According to the police, Rajeev was involved in the kidnapping and murder of 22-year-old Sunil Kumar in north Delhi’s Burari area. “A missing person report was filed by the victim’s father on December 27, 2009, and the case was registered on January 4, 2010. Sunil’s body was later recovered from Ghaziabad,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Harsh Indora.

Investigators found that Rajeev, along with his associates Lakhan and Rameshwar Dyal (Rajeev’s father), killed Sunil allegedly because of his relationship with Rajeev’s cousin. The trio was initially arrested and remanded to judicial custody.

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However, Rajeev was granted interim bail in February 2013 on humanitarian grounds following his mother’s death — and never returned. In September 2013, a local court declared him a proclaimed offender.

Police recently received a tip-off that Rajeev, now going by the alias “Bobby,” had been living in Bengaluru and working as a driver. He was tracked down after information surfaced about a visit to his ancestral home in Prem Nagar on June 18.

“A raid was conducted, and Rajeev was apprehended. During interrogation, he confessed to fleeing to Nepal after securing bail and then relocating to Bengaluru, where he used multiple identities and did odd jobs to avoid detection,” DCP Indora said.

Rajeev, who is reportedly illiterate and previously worked as a property dealer in Delhi, is now in police custody. Further investigation is underway.