Delhi Police Solves 23-Year-Old Double Murder Case: Fugitives Arrested After Two Decades on the Run

New Delhi:

Delhi Police's Crime Branch has achieved a significant breakthrough by solving a 23-year-old double murder case with the arrest of two fugitives who had evaded capture since 2002. The suspects were wanted for the brutal killing of a woman and her two-year-old daughter in Sarita Vihar, authorities announced on Friday.

The apprehended individuals include one man who had been a Proclaimed Offender for 23 years and another who had escaped parole 18 years ago after being convicted for the murders.

Police identified the arrested men as Amalesh Kumar from Bihar's Shivhar district and Sushil Kumar. The latter had previously received a death sentence from the trial court, which was later reduced to life imprisonment by the Delhi High Court.

Amalesh Kumar had disappeared immediately following the murders on January 28, 2002, and remained untraceable for over two decades. After being declared a Proclaimed Offender, he was finally located in Jamnagar, Gujarat, where he had been working as a laborer under a false identity. Crime Branch teams successfully tracked him using a combination of technical surveillance and ground intelligence, solving a case that had gone cold for years.

"His apprehension is a powerful message that the long arm of the law eventually reaches every criminal, no matter how discreetly they hide," stated police in their official release.

The second suspect, Sushil Kumar, who had been convicted for the murders but jumped parole in 2007, was arrested near the Indo-Nepal border in Lalgarh village. According to police, he had traveled extensively across Karnataka, Gujarat, and Maharashtra over the years, frequently changing his location to avoid detection.

The case dates back to January 2002, when Anil Kumar returned to his residence in Madanpur Khadar to discover his home ransacked and the bodies of his 22-year-old wife Anita and their two-year-old daughter Megha in the kitchen, both having suffered multiple stab wounds.

Investigators later determined that business rivalry was the motive behind the killings, as both accused were reportedly jealous of the victim's successful tailoring business.

"He disclosed that he, along with his associate Amalesh Kumar, had committed the murders with a knife. He further revealed that the motive was business rivalry in tailoring work, as the complainant, Anil Kumar, was getting more business than him," police officials stated.

DCP Pankaj Kumar reported, "On sustained interrogation both the accused persons have admitted their involvement in the above murder case. Subsequently they have been booked under appropriate sections of law."