Delhi: Absconder in 2021 rape case arrested after five-year chase

The Delhi Police has arrested a 34-year-old man who had been absconding for nearly five years in connection with a rape case lodged in 2021, an official said on Sunday.

The accused, identified as Sumit Mishra, was wanted in the FIR registered at Ranhola police station, and was declared a proclaimed offender by a Delhi court in July 2021 after repeatedly evading arrest, he said.

Police said despite sustained efforts, the accused remained at large and kept changing locations and identities, moving across Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. During this time he worked in a hatchery, and later as a waiter in hotels, to avoid detection.

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The official said based on specific intelligence, a team attempted to nab Mishra from Haridwar in Uttarakhand on January 9, but he managed to flee with the help of local associates.

Continuous tracking of his movements led the team to outer Delhi, where he was finally arrested on January 10, he added.

Police said the case dates back to March 7, 2021, when the victim, a graduate working at a Mohalla Clinic, lodged a complaint alleging Mishra had raped her after luring her on the pretext of helping her fill a Civil Defence recruitment form.

“The accused allegedly recorded objectionable videos of the woman and circulated them among her family members to threaten and traumatise her,” the official said.

During his period of absconding, the accused was also involved in a separate case in Haryana in 2022 after his associates allegedly attacked a police team during a raid, he added.