New Delhi, July 27 (IANS) Delhi Police’s Crime Branch on Monday arrested two proclaimed offenders who had been absconding for the past 17 years in connection with a 2007 attempt to murder case, including one who had allegedly changed his identity and was living under a false name to evade arrest.
The accused have been identified as Iqbal Singh alias Palla, 46, and Bhupender Singh alias Lovely, 47. They were arrested separately from Bilaspur in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur district and Delhi’s Mayur Vihar during a coordinated operation carried out by the Anti-Robbery and Snatching Cell (ARSC) of the Crime Branch.
Both accused were wanted in FIR No. 237/2007 registered under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 341 (wrongful restraint), and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code at the Patel Nagar Police Station.
According to Delhi Police, both men had jumped bail after their release and had been absconding since then. They were declared proclaimed offenders by the court in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
Police said Bhupender Singh had assumed a false identity in the name of Chander Pal, son of Babu Ram, and had been residing in Mayur Vihar to avoid detection by law enforcement agencies.
Officials also said Iqbal Singh has been previously involved in 15 criminal cases related to auto theft and attempt to murder, while Bhupender Singh has six previous criminal cases registered against him under the Arms Act, Gambling Act, as well as theft and attempt-to-murder charges in Delhi.
According to the police, the case originated from a family dispute. Bhupender Singh had married the sister of Amarjit Singh, who strongly opposed the marriage, resulting in long-standing hostility between the two families.
On April 11, 2007, the rivalry allegedly turned violent when Iqbal Singh, along with Bhupender Singh and another associate, Chattar Singh, attacked Amarjit Singh in the Patel Nagar area. During the assault, the accused allegedly used a wooden plank and an iron pipe, inflicting grievous injuries on the victim in an alleged attempt to kill him.
Following the incident, a case was registered at Patel Nagar Police Station. Iqbal Singh was arrested on April 16, 2007, while Bhupender Singh was arrested on May 28, 2007. However, after securing bail, both failed to appear before the court and remained absconding for nearly 17 years.
Delhi Police said a dedicated team of the ARSC, Crime Branch, under Inspector Robin Tyagi and supervised by ACP Sanjay Kumar Nagpal, had been tracking fugitives involved in serious criminal cases. During the operation, Head Constable Mintu Yadav received specific intelligence regarding the whereabouts of the two proclaimed offenders.
Subsequent verification revealed that Iqbal Singh had been hiding in Rampur district, while Bhupender Singh was residing in Mayur Vihar under a fake identity. Based on the intelligence inputs, a raiding team comprising ASIs Sanjeev Kumar, Sachin Singh, and Narender Sharma, Head Constables Mintu Yadav, Sawai Singh, and Aadesh was constituted.
On July 25, simultaneous raids were conducted at both locations, leading to the successful arrest of the two accused from their respective hideouts.
During interrogation, Iqbal Singh allegedly disclosed that after absconding, he frequently shifted between Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Uttarakhand to evade arrest. To sustain himself financially, he worked as a taxi driver while remaining underground.
Bhupender Singh told investigators that he had initially shifted from Delhi’s Baljeet Nagar to Punjab after selling his house. There, he worked as a driver with a reputed soft-drink company before suffering serious injuries in a road accident. He later returned to Delhi and began living in Mayur Vihar.
Police said that to avoid being traced, he abandoned his original identity and started using the name Chander Pal, son of Babu Ram. He continued working as a taxi driver in Delhi while concealing his real identity from authorities.
Police said Iqbal Singh, a native of Rampur, had married the sister of co-accused Bhupender Singh. His wife later died in a train accident in Ambala. He is considered a habitual offender with criminal cases registered in Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.
Bhupender Singh, a native of Delhi, has a 20-year-old son and is also a habitual offender with previous cases registered under the Arms Act, Gambling Act, theft, and attempt to murder.
Following their arrest, both accused have been sent to Tihar Jail. The local police stations concerned have been informed to initiate further legal proceedings against them under Sections 174A and 229A of the IPC for non-appearance in response to a court proclamation and failure to appear after being released on bail.
–IANS
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