Delhi Police pose as vendor to arrest murder accused in 20-year-old case

The accused had been evading arrest for two decades by disguising himself as a chole bhature vendor, was finally apprehended from Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh

A man who had been missing for two decades in connection with the abduction and killing of a Delhi-based businessman for ransom was arrested by the Delhi Police from Uttar Pradesh.

He was arrested near Ramlila Maidan in Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh, where he had been residing under the guise of a chole bhature vendor, having altered his identity to evade police arrest.

According to an official from the Delhi Police’s Crime Branch, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Sonu Nain posed as a mango seller and set up a stall near Ramlila Maidan in Mainpuri to monitor the movements of Sipahi Lal, also known as Gurdayal.

Sharing details of the 20-year-old case, authorities said that on October 31, 2004, Ramesh Chand Gupta, a businessman from Delhi’s Shakarpur area, left his residence driving a Santro car but never returned home.

He had told his family members that he is going to meet Mukesh Vats, whom he knew as both worked in close proximity in Azadpur Mandi.

Jagdish Kumar, the brother of the missing businessman, lodged a kidnapping complaint with the Shalimar Bagh police station. Following this, on November 2, 2004, Gupta’s vehicle was found abandoned at the Bahadurgarh police station, yet there was no sign of the man.

Following the suspicions raised by the family, authorities arrested Mukesh Vats.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Pawariya said, “On interrogation, Vats admitted that he, along with his associates Sipahi Lal, Shareef Khan, Kamlesh, and Rajesh, abducted Gupta and later killed him.

Vats ran a vegetable business at the Azadpur Mandi, employing Shareef Khan, Kamlesh, Rajesh, and Sipahi Lal. The accused had concealed the body within a sack and discarded it into a drainage channel close to Karala village.

The police had arrested Shareef Khan and Kamlesh in Karala, where Gupta’s remains were also discovered. However, Sipahi Lal and Rajesh managed to escape and were subsequently labelled as ‘fugitives’ by the court.

The DCP further said, “Recently, the police got a tip-off that Sipahi Lal was selling chole bhature under a different name near the Ramlila Maidan in Mainpuri. To trace his movement and activities, ASI Sonu Nain was placed there in the disguise of a mango seller.”

Two days later, the ASI discovered that Sipahi Lal was selling chole bhature using the alias Gurdayal. “When confronted, he tried to hoodwink the police by identifying himself as Gurdayal. But later he broke down and disclosed his real name and identity. The accused has been arrested under the appropriate sections of the law,” the DCP said.

(With agency inputs)