Crime Branch captures life-convicted criminal after evasion & parole violation

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police’s Crime Branch has arrested a life-convicted 45-year-old parole jumper in a cold-blooded double murder of a truck driver and his helper.

The accused was identified as Vijay Kumar alias Vijay (45), a resident of Jatwari, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.

According to the police, the operation was led by Inspectors Pankaj Malik and Rohit Kumar under the supervision of ACP Ramesh Chander Lamba, culminating in the arrest of Vijay Kumar in Alwar, Rajasthan.

The accused Kumar had been evading authorities since April 2023, following the expiration of his parole.

Vijay Kumar was initially convicted in connection with the brutal murders of Prem, a truck driver from his village, and Sanjay, the driver’s helper.

The murders, committed by strangulation, occurred in February 2002 and were driven by a family feud. The case was registered under sections 302/380/34 of the Indian Penal Code, at Keshav Puram Police Station in Delhi. Kumar was sentenced to life imprisonment on March 30, 2010.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kumar was granted parole on April 14, 2021, for a period of 90 days, which was subsequently extended until April 7, 2023.

However, instead of surrendering at the end of his parole period, Kumar absconded, prompting a manhunt.

The Crime Branch’s Interstate Cell led the investigation into Vijay Kumar’s parole violation. Inspector Pankaj Malik’s team, including ASI Mukesh Kumar and Constables Dinesh Kumar and Ravinder, used human intelligence and technical surveillance to track Kumar from Palwal to Alwar, where he was captured. Kumar has been returned to Tihar Jail.