NEW DELHI: Six policemen from Delhi disguised themselves as labourers and conductors to arrest a murder fugitive in the dense forest of the Chhattisgarh-Jharkhand border area recently.
Acting on a lead, the team members changed their appearance and infiltrated the local workforce. Finally, they zeroed in on the suspect, who had changed his name and was working as a truck driver.He was arrested. The accused was identified as Raju Banarsi, a resident of Palamu, Jharkhand, for whose arrest there was a reward of Rs 50,000.
The accused and his accomplices allegedly killed a man over a property dispute in west Delhi’s Tilak Nagar over a decade ago.
DCP(Crime) Sanjay Sain said that in 2013, six people, including Banarsi, committed the murder of a person, Jitender Lamba, following the direction of his brother, Rajesh Singh Lamba. The brother gave the contract for the killing to one Ravinder Rathi, who further engaged one Mukesh Kumar Soni. The accused were provided a sum of Rs 10 lakh for the contract killing.
“The motive behind the murder was a property dispute between the brothers. Banarsi was not only involved in the murder but also provided two pistols to his accomplices. He was tasked with providing backup and an escape route for his co-accused,” the DCP said.
After committing the crime, all the accused fled, but later, at different intervals, they were arrested. However, Banarsi remained at large. He was declared a proclaimed offender.
After analysing and tracking hundreds of mobile numbers belonging to his accomplices, family and friends over the last 10 years, Naveen, a head constable in the crime branch, recently found some suspicious activity on a mobile number belonging to a distant relative in Jharkhand. “The location of the number was constantly found in the forest area of the Chhattisgarh-Jharkhand border. The phone would switch on for a few minutes and then turn off,” said the officer.
After further probe, the six officers went to the border area and started staying and working with the local labourers. They wanted to get familiar with the area, as it is difficult to locate a person in such dense terrain. After several days, they were able to locate the suspect, who was driving a truck in the forest area.
“In the past, we sent multiple teams to arrest him, but he always managed to flee. We kept changing our teams to avoid detection. We wore old clothes, followed the daily routines of labourers, and searched for anyone who came from elsewhere and settled here, ultimately leading to his capture,” police said.
Banarsi told the officers that after the murder, he fled to Banaras and then to Jharkhand. Later, he started a new phase of his life and concealed his identity. He purchased a truck and became a driver.
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