A 27-year-old man, Surjeet Singh, was arrested in Punjab on Monday, two years after allegedly killing a Zomato delivery boy in West Delhi over a dispute involving smoking.
The police revealed that Singh had evaded arrest by disguising his identity as a Nihang and associating himself with local religious groups to avoid recognition. His arrest comes after a prolonged investigation into the incident.
The victim, a Zomato delivery boy, was killed in 2022, sparking a manhunt for the accused, who had been on the run since the crime. Authorities have now apprehended Singh, who was located in Punjab.
Singh had been declared a Proclaimed Offender by a court here and was apprehended after a week-long operation in Punjab, Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime) Satish Kumar said.
The incident took place on June 15, 2022, in the Tilak Nagar area when Singh and his associate, Harshdeep Singh, fatally stabbed 29-year-old Sagar Singh over a minor dispute about smoking, he said.
Kumar said Harshdeep confronted Sagar for smoking, and an argument escalated into a deadly attack, with Sagar being stabbed in the chest.
While Harshdeep was immediately arrested, Surjeet managed to flee the scene and evaded capture by frequently changing his locations, the DCP said.
Despite extensive efforts to track him down, Surjeet remained elusive, prompting the court to declare him a Proclaimed Offender, he said.
The Crime Branch team, led by Inspector Krishan Kumar and under the guidance of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Naresh Kumar, launched a series of raids in Delhi and Punjab, employing technical surveillance and human intelligence, the officer said.
"After gathering vital leads, they traced Surjeet to the Amritsar region and then to Batala, Punjab, where he had been hiding in the Madiaval village area," another officer said.
During interrogation, Surjeet confessed to the murder and revealed that he altered his appearance to avoid being arrested, the officer said.
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