A man wanted for a murder committed more than four decades ago has finally been caught, bringing an end to one of the Delhi Crime Branch’s longest-running manhunts.
The accused, 65-year-old Natthu, also known as Natthulal, is from the Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh. He had been on the run since 1984, when a murder case was first registered against him at Janakpuri police station in Delhi.
That night, the body of a man was found in District Park, Vikaspuri, in West Delhi. He had been stabbed several times. The victim was identified as Ashok Kumar, from the Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh. As police dug into the case, they found that a man named Bhabhuti Prasad, also from Sitapur, was linked to the killing. He was arrested soon after, and officers recovered the knife used in the attack based on details he gave them. His friend Natthu, however, slipped away. Officers then spent months gathering information on the ground in the Sitapur and Hardoi districts of Uttar Pradesh, hoping to pick up his trail after so many years. Police say the killing stemmed from a personal dispute.
The accused, 65-year-old Natthu, also known as Natthulal, is from the Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh. He had been on the run since 1984, when a murder case was first registered against him at Janakpuri police station in Delhi. The case goes back to the night of 22 and 23 May 1984.
Natthu and Bhabhuti Prasad were friends, while the victim, Ashok Kumar, and Bhabhuti Prasad were from the same village, according to investigators.
Investigators went back through old files connected to the case, pulling together whatever details they could find about the accused’s earlier addresses, his family and any places he might be hiding.
