Man held 9 years after businessman’s murder in Delhi

35-year-old man arrested after 9 years for 2014 businessman's murder in Jama Masjid. Declared proclaimed offender with ₹50,000 reward in 2015.

A 35-year-old man who was wanted in a 2014 case of a businessman’s murder in Jama Masjid area was arrested nine years later on Sunday, police said. The accused was declared a proclaimed offender in 2015 and had a reward of ₹50,000 on his arrest, police officials added.

Man held 9 years after businessman’s murder in Delhi

Deputy commissioner of police (crime branch), Amit Goel, said that the accused had been identified as Devender Kumar, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, who was allegedly involved in the killing of Veer Sain Jain on November 9 in 2014. Jain was the owner of Arun Vastra Bhandar at Nai Sadak.

Kumar’s brother Rajveer Kumar, Jain’s former driver, was arrested along with his associate Sarvesh Kumar by the local police for the murder the same year, but Devender was absconding, police said.

Jain used to stay with his son in Nirman Vihar but would frequently visit his ancestral home in Chippiwada area close to Jama Masjid. On the day of the incident, Rajveer and his associates allegedly strangulated Jain when he was at home and robbed him of his bag containing ₹6 lakh.

In April 2015, Kumar was declared a proclaimed offender by a court and a reward of ₹50,000 was declared on his arrest.

According to the police, a Crime Branch team had visited Kumar’s native village in UP and also visited his relatives’ houses to get information about his latest activities. “Subsequently, an official working on the case got an input that the accused was working in a factory somewhere in Pandav Nagar in Ghaziabad. The information was further developed and a door-to-door exercise of the industrial area in Pandav Nagar was carried out,” Goel said.

Kumar was found working in a factory after which a raid was conducted and he was arrested.

During the investigation, it was revealed that Kumar had hidden at his relatives and friends’ houses in UP and had been continuously changing his address. “After being declared an absconder by the court, he cut all ties with his relatives and friends. In 2016, he started working at a factory in Pandav Nagar as Sunil Kumar,” Goel said.