Convicted child rapist held after three-year manhunt

NEW DELHI: The Crime Branch of the Delhi Police has arrested a proclaimed offender who was convicted for life imprisonment for the case of sexual assault of a 5-year-old minor girl in 2012.

An anonymous source tipped about the criminal in the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police.

The accused was identified as Bhagwan (40) resident of Chapra, Bihar.

According to the Police, the case was filed at Bawana Police Station, and began with a complaint from the victim’s father.

The complaint detailed the abduction and sexual assault of his minor daughter by Bhagwan, a known acquaintance from Chapra, Bihar.

Following a trial, Bhagwan was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment. However, he was released on parole in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and failed to return to jail by February 2021.

Upon receiving information from jail authorities about Bhagwan’s failure to surrender, a dedicated team of the Delhi Police’s Crime Branch was formed under the supervision of Inspector Pawan Kumar and Inspector Satender Mohan, with overall guidance from ACP Ramesh Chander Lamba.

The team’s Initial investigations revealed that Bhagwan’s family had relocated from Bawana to an unknown location.

ASI Suresh Gupta from the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police, despite being on leave, pursued a lead indicating Bhagwan’s presence in Nangloi, Delhi, where he was reportedly working in construction.

Gupta contacted local contractors and laborers in the area, ultimately identifying a contractor who recognized Bhagwan from his photo. The team then posed as contractors to surveil the labor market near Lokesh Cinema in Nangloi.

On June 11, the team successfully identified and apprehended Bhagwan at the Labor Chowk near Lokesh Cinema.

During interrogation, Bhagwan confessed to luring the five-year-old victim in 2012 under the pretext of offering sweets before assaulting her at Bawana canal.

He admitted to frequently changing his residence and working as a daily wage laborer in Delhi and Haryana to avoid detection and deliberately avoided using mobile phones to evade tracking.

Bhagwan, an uneducated was living with his family in a rented accommodation in Amar Colony, Nangloi, Delhi.