A 42-year-old man evading police for the past 14 years in a case of murder-cum-robbery was arrested from Haryana after police trailed him for the past 15 months.
Ved Pal, who had assumed the identity of Ved Giri Maharaj, a godman, was apprehended from his hideout known as 'Dera' situated on the outskirts of Pillu Khera in Jind, S B S Tyagi, Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi), said today.
He had worked as a security guard in a rice godown in Narela and was allegedly involved in a murder-cum-robbery in 1999. He was declared a proclaimed offender in the same year.
"The team was on the trail of the fugitive since the last 15 months," Tyagi said.
The gang had allegedly looted around 300 bags of rice from a truck going towards Mumbai after murdering the cleaner and attacking the driver. One of the gang members had posed as a policeman and stopped the truck.
Two accused Rajender and Sarvan were arrested but Ved Pal, who allegedly posed as a policeman, absconded.
Ved Pal, who was into farming, came to Shalimar Bagh in the 1990s and was employed as a security guard in Hameedpur near Peeragarhi. He came in contact with Sarvan and Rajender.
"He got married in 1995 and has a daughter. His wife deserted him after this incident. He was one of the main accused who had actively participated in the commission of the gruesome murder of the cleaner Hans Raj.
"He along with his accomplices had fled the scene with the looted property leaving behind the injured driver presuming him to be dead," Tyagi said.
