Delhi Police Arrest "Most Wanted Criminal" 5 Years After He Jumped Parole

The Delhi Police has arrested a "most wanted criminal" from Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, five years after he was on the run during his parole period, officials said on Sunday.

Vijay Pahalwan (52) is named in 24 cases, including murder, attempt to murder, and sexual harassment, in Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat and Maharashtra, and a reward of Rs 2 lakh was announced on information leading to his arrest, they said.

Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) RS Yadav said a team of the Crime Branch was tasked to arrest people who are named in cases of heinous crimes and were on the run.

"Information from police and judicial records was gathered. Complete criminal records of the accused maintained in numerous police files, SCRB records, and concerned trial courts were analysed. From the analysis of the records, it was found that a proclaimed offender in a murder case was hiding in Jabalpur," Mr Yadav said.

The police officials said after tracing Pahalwan's location, a special team was formed and dispatched to Jabalpur, leading to his arrest.

"In 2011, he (Pahalwan) had murdered Raghuvir Singh (69) after abducting him from the Kishangarh area of Delhi. He took the victim to the Andheri Mor area in Delhi where he asked him to give his plot. When the victim refused, he shot him and dumped his body in a forest area near DLF Phase-II in Gurugram," Mr Yadav said.

Following his arrest, Pahalwan disclosed that he had got parole of two days in April 2018 and he jumped it, they said.

Using the name Vikram Singh, the accused started working at a 'pehalwani akhara' in Kolhapur in Maharashtra. He met a woman while his stay there, and after two years, moved to Raipur in Chhattisgarh, where he started a property business, the officials said.

While living in Raipur, Pahalwan came in contact with his friends and one of them asked him to start a property business in Jabalpur, they said. He moved his business to Madhya Pradesh city after operating for two years in Raipur.

"For the last one year, he was running his property business in Jabalpur. He used to buy land, villas and farms, and sell these at higher prices, earning huge profits. He has a farmhouse in the Jabalpur area, wherein, he had employed 14 people," said the special commissioner of police.

Mr Yadav said that Pahalwan had employed four armed bodyguards for his safety. "He has two sons and both are lawyers, who indulged in 'pairvi' of criminal cases registered against him," the officer said.

The officials said the cases Pahalwan is named in also include those related to criminal conspiracy, theft, criminal intimidation and the Arms Act.

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