New Delhi, Sep 18 : A fugitive wanted in a sensational murder case in Sarita Vihar Police Station area was arrested by the police on Thursday after bring apprehended from Gurugram, after two years of being on the run.

The 27-year-old man, Somnath Patro was the prime accused in the sensational murder of a man in 2023 in Sarita Vihar and had been evading arrest since then.

Somnath Patro was declared a Proclaimed Offender by a Delhi court in the case and had been a wanted man since then.

On September 15, 2023, a 39-year-old man Ardhendu Mandal, residing at House No. C-143, Gali No. 9, Aali Vihar in Sarita Vihar was brutally murdered by the accused person and his accomplices using a knife.

The crime led to the registration of FIR No. 491/2023 on September 16, 2023 under Sections 147/148/149/174A/302/323/34 IPC, at Police Station Sarita Vihar in South-East Delhi.

Five accused persons were caught by the police in connection with the murder, but one of the prime accused, Somnath, had been deliberately evading arrest for the past two years since the registration of the case. The trial court had also declared Somnath a Proclaimed Offender in connection with the crime.

The Anti-Narcotics Squad of the Delhi Police had been on the lookout for Somnath, in order to being him to justice.

The Anti-Narcotics Squad mounted technical and manual surveillance on the movement of the accused and ultimately, Head Constable Mohit Vashisth of the squad traced the fugitive in Gurgaon, where he had been hiding under an assumed identity.

Through a well-coordinated operation, a team of the Anti-Narcotics Squad comprising SI Sudhir, ASI Upender, Head Constables Mohit, Karamveer, Kuldeep, Pradeep among others, led by Inspector Vishnu Dutt, successfully raided and apprehended Somnath Patro from near the Lohiya Farms in Bhondsi area of Gurugram, Haryana.

On sustained interrogation, accused Somnath Patro revealed that he had been living under the police radar for the last two years by working as a delivery boy and changing mobile numbers frequently by using a different mobile phone each time, to avoid detection.

At the time of the crime, Somnath Patro used to reside at Jhuggi No.02, New Priyank Camp, Near Kali Mandir, Sarita Vihar in Delhi and worked as a delivery boy. He was previously involved in another case and an FIR had been filed against him in the CR Park Police Station in Delhi.

/IANS