Delhi: Absconding accused in Shalimar Bagh abduction and murder nabbed from UP after 20 years

New Delhi [India], May 22 : An accused in the abduction and murder of a businessman in Shalimar Bagh twenty years ago was held from Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh by the Delhi Police Crime Branch.
Sharing details of the events leading up to his capture, the Crime Branch said the accused changed his name and had been running a food stall at Mainpuri. All the co-accused in the case have already been convicted and are serving life terms, the police added.
A team from Southern Range, Malviya Nagar, Crime Branch, succeeded in tracking down and capturing the accused, identified as Sipahi Lal alias Gurdayal (41), after 20 years from Mainpuri. He had been absconding since the incident in the Shalimar Bagh police station area in 2004.
The accused, along with four convicted accomplices, abducted the businessman, who dealt in cereals and was identified as Ramesh Gupta, for ransom, the police said, adding, however, that the abductors killed him even before making the ransom call.
Sharing grisly details of the crime, the police said the accused and his accomplices stabbed the trader multiple times to ensure he was dead and dumped his body in a drain in the Karala village area.
"On October 31, 2004, the day of Karwa Chauth, a cereal businessman named Ramesh Chand Gupta, a resident of Shakarpur, left his house in his car but did not turn back home. The family members made several calls on his mobile phone but there was no response. On this, his brother Jagdish Kumar lodged a case of abduction with the local Shalimar Bagh police station. The family also raised suspicion against a fruit and vegetable businessman Mukesh Vats, who was residing in the same area," the Delhi Police Crime Branch said in an official statement.
Over the course of an investigation, on November 2, 2004, the trader's car was found at CIA Bahadurgarh police station but he was still missing. The police tracked down and questioned one of the accused, Mukesh Vats, who broke down and confessed to his involvement in the crime. He disclosed that he along with his Sipahi Lal, Shareef Khan, Kamlesh and Rajesh had abducted Ramesh Gupta in his car and killed him.
Mukesh Vats was a vegetable businessman in Azadpur Mandi while the co-accused Shareef Khan, Kamlesh, Rajesh and Sipahi Lal were his employees.
According to Delhi Police, on the day of Karwa Chauth, the accused and his convicted accomplices called Ramesh Chand Gupta on the pretext of a meeting and abducted him for ransom. They kept him confined to a room at Delhi's Karala village. They used a spray on him to knock him unconscious. When he came around, they used the spray again to disable him. They then killed him with a knife. After ensuring that he was dead, they put his lifeless body in a gunny bag and dumped it in a drain near Karala from the car belonging to Mukesh Vats, police revealed.
Mukesh Vats, Shareef Khan and Kamlesh were arrested from the Karala village area and the mortal remains of Ramesh Chand Gupta were recovered based on leads provided by the accused trio from the drain, police said, adding that the knife and the spray bottle used in the crime were also recovered from the same area. The car belonging to Mukesh Vats was also impounded as the probe gathered pace.
Accused Sipahi Lal and Rajesh could not be arrested and were declared proclaimed offenders by the Court. After the investigation, a chargesheet against Mukesh Vats, Shareef Khan and Kamlesh was filed. After the trial, the Ld. Court convicted and awarded life imprisonment to the arrested accused in the case.
The sleuths learned that Sipahi Lal, who had managed to evade capture, was hiding somewhere in Mainpuri, police said, adding that they also gathered that he had changed his name and was running a food stall at the Ramleela Ground, Mainpuri.
To track his movement and activities, ASI Sonu Nain started selling mangoes at the Ramleela Ground while staying in touch with his informer for more leads. After two days, he came to know that Sipahi Lal was posing himself to be Gurdayal Chhole Wala, police said.
On being grilled, he initially claimed he was Gurudayal and tried to hoodwink the sleuths. However, he eventually broke down and disclosed his real name and identity, the police informed, adding that he was arrested under appropriate sections of the law.