The Delhi Police has arrested a 62-year-old man who had been on the run for over 26 years in a murder case registered in 2000, an officer said on Sunday.
The accused, who was the victim’s neighbour, had allegedly hit him on the head with a hammer and staged the scene to make it appear like a hit-and-run accident, police said.
However, subsequent investigation revealed that it was allegedly a planned murder. Initially, the incident was treated as a road accident, and a case was registered under the IPC for accidental death at Gokalpuri police station. A Crime Branch team traced his native village in Uttar Pradesh’s Etawah district and subsequently developed leads about his family members living in Delhi.
Following a tip-off, police arrested Vishwanath Singh alias Munna in northeast Delhi’s Shiv Vihar area on October 30, the officer said. “The case dates back to October 20, 1998, when Jai Prakash, 24, was found grievously injured and unconscious in the Gokalpuri area.
He later died during treatment without regaining consciousness,” a senior police officer said. The accused, who was the victim’s neighbour, had allegedly hit him on the head with a hammer and staged the scene to make it appear like a hit-and-run accident, police said. During surveillance, the team noticed a man secretly meeting the accused’s brothers and established his identity through discreet verification, police said.
