MUMBAI: The Mira Bhayander–Vasai Virar police crime branch arrested a murder accused, from Delhi about 24 years after he allegedly killed his neighbour and fled from the extended suburbs. The arrested accused is identified as Pannalal Chauhan.
According to the crime branch officers, the incident took place on October 5, 1997, when Dharamnath Ramshankar Pandey, 25 and his friend Pramodkumar Sutaram Pandey, 24, were returning home from work around midnight when the residents of their building Vijaysingh Chauhan, Mevalal alias Pannalal Chauhan and Rajendra Ramdular Pal threw garbage in a plastic bag in the drain next to their building entrance.
As a result, dirty water from the drain was splashed on the victim, Dharmnath, and the complainant, Pramodkumar.
On objecting to the act, the three accused, who got offended, came down from their flat and began abusing Dharamnath and Pramodkumar. T
he heated exchange of words soon became a fight between the five men. In a fit of rage, the three men picked up bamboo sticks from the nearby construction site and began assaulting the two men.
Dharamnath was hit on his forehead by Vijaysingh and fell to the ground in a pool of blood. On realising, that they had killed Dharamnath, the three men fled the area.
On the complaint of Pramodkumar, the Bhayander police then registered a murder case against the three accused under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. Hours after the murder, the police arrested Vijaysingh, but the two others went out of the police radar.
While investigating ‘cold cases’, the crime branch officers recently paid a visit to Pannalal’s house but did not find him there. They were tracking the two-absconding accused when their informer, a resident of the same area, gave police a tip-off that Pannalal had fled to Delhi after the murder and had been staying there.
Accordingly, the crime branch started tracking Pannalal in Delhi and eventually tracked him to the national capital where he was running a momo stall. The police arrested Pannalal on Sunday and brought him to Mumbai.
On the complaint of Pramodkumar, the Bhayander police then registered a murder case against the three accused under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. Hours after the murder, the police arrested Vijaysingh, but the two others went out of the police radar.
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