Man evading arrest for nine years after raping minor held

New Delhi: Delhi Police’s Crime Branch has arrested a 51-year-old man who had been evading arrest for the last nine years in a case of kidnapping and raping a girl in Ranjeet Nagar area, officials said on Thursday.

The accused, Vinod Dhobi, is a resident of Pandav Nagar. He was arrested from Tilak Nagar area in west Delhi, they said.

He was changing his address frequently and was declared proclaimed offender for evading his arrest for the last nine years, police said.

After committing the crime in 2014, he left his parental house and started residing in various parts of Delhi and NCR. He was currently residing in Tilak Nagar where he was working as a washerman, they added.

Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Singh Yadav said that in 2014, a woman lodged a complaint at Ranjit Nagar police station regarding kidnapping of her 15-year-old daughter. During the course of investigation, it was revealed that the minor was kidnapped by the accused and his four other associates and later on they raped her.

During probe, the four accused were arrested in 2014 but accused Dhobi went absconding, he said.

Based on a tip-off, a raid was conducted and the absconding accused was arrested from Tilak Nagar, he added.

“In 2014, the accused came in contact with Bhagwan Dass and Jacky, who were habitual offenders of the area. All accused with common intention kidnapped a minor and raped her,” the officer said.