New Delhi: Delhi Police have solved a 35-year-old murder case by arresting a man who had been on the run since 1991. The accused, Chhavi Lal Verma, is believed to have killed his landlady and injured her son during a robbery attempt.
The incident dates back to August 2, 1991, when police received a call about a serious attack in West Vinod Nagar. When officers reached the spot, they found the woman badly injured with multiple stab wounds, while her son, who was around 18 to 20 years old at the time, was also hurt. Both were taken to the hospital, where the woman later died, but her son survived.
During the investigation, police found that Verma, who was a tenant in the house in Trilok Puri, had carried out the attack. He believed the family had a lot of cash as the woman’s husband lived abroad. When the woman and her son tried to stop him, he attacked them with a sharp weapon and then fled.
After the crime, Verma went into hiding and managed to avoid arrest for years. In 1996, a court declared him a proclaimed offender. For decades, he stayed under the radar by changing his identity, moving across cities and avoiding contact with people from his past. He even stayed away from important family events to avoid being caught.
The case saw a breakthrough when the Crime Branch reopened the investigation and formed a special team to track him down. Over the last six months, the team followed several leads, checked old records and visited places linked to him, including his village in Uttar Pradesh.
Police found that he had lived in cities like Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur and Goa before finally settling in Punjab. He took up small jobs and kept a low profile to avoid attention.
Based on fresh inputs, the police traced him to Ludhiana. After careful surveillance, he was arrested on April 10. At the time, he was working as a security guard.
During questioning, Verma admitted to the crime and said he had planned the robbery for money. However, things turned violent when the victims resisted.
Police said he managed to stay hidden for over three decades by constantly moving and living very cautiously. Further legal action is now being taken, and the investigation is ongoing.
(with inputs from agencies)
