Man held in Gujarat after evading arrest for 16 years in brutal Delhi murder case

Sixteen years after a gruesome murder in which the victim was beheaded and his body stuffed in an iron box in Delhis Bindapur, the Delhi Police arrested one of the accused, who had been on the run since 2009, an official said on Saturday.

Sixteen years after a gruesome murder in which the victim was beheaded and his body stuffed in an iron box in Delhi's Bindapur, the Delhi Police arrested one of the accused, who had been on the run since 2009, an official said on Saturday. The accused, identified as Ashik Ali (55), a resident of Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, was apprehended from Surat, Gujarat, where he had been living under a false identity to evade arrest, police said. According to police, a reward of Rs 25,000 had been announced for information leading to Ali's arrest. He had been declared a proclaimed offender in 2011 and had remained absconding for over a decade and a half. On January 5, 2009, police had recovered a headless body inside an iron box in the Bindapur area of southwest Delhi. A case under Sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the IPC was registered. During the investigation, the deceased was identified as Harish Chand alias Babloo, police said. Probe revealed that the murder was the result of a monetary dispute between the victim and Banarsi Lal, a relative of the deceased. ''Banarsi Lal, along with his associate Ashik Ali, jointly committed the brutal murder and disposed of the body and head separately to conceal the crime,'' an officer said. While Banarsi Lal was arrested soon after the crime, tried and sentenced to life imprisonment, Ali had managed to escape from Delhi and had been missing since, the officer added. On November 4, police received specific input regarding Ali's presence in Surat. Acting on this, a police team was dispatched to Gujarat. The team conducted a coordinated operation based on technical surveillance and local intelligence. On November 5, Ali was apprehended from Bhaiya Nagar, Surat, where he had been working as a tailor for the past four years. During interrogation, Ali disclosed that Banarsi Lal, his close friend, had a financial dispute with the deceased. ''An altercation over money turned violent, and together they killed Harish and beheaded him to destroy evidence,'' the officer said. After the crime, Ali fled Delhi and began moving across states with his wife and children, constantly changing his residence to avoid detection. Further investigation and legal proceedings are underway, police added.

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