New Delhi, A 48-year-old man wanted for murdering a 35-year-old acquaintance by allegedly crushing his head with stones in a forested area of south Delhi in 2002 was arrested after evading the police for nearly 24 years, an officer said on Sunday.
The probe also revealed an old family dispute involving Firoj’s brother Saahbjaan, who was married to a woman from Ansari’s village. The murder case was registered at Okhla Industrial Area police station in connection with the killing of Kalaam Ansari. The deceased was later identified as Ansari, a resident of West Champaran in Bihar. He later died by suicide in front of Ansari’s house. A team arrested him after keeping surveillance on the factory and confirming his identity. He is married and has four children. Further investigation is underway.
During the investigation, police found that Ansari had come to Delhi for employment in 2001 along with Firoj.
The accused, identified as Firoj alias Khaja, was arrested by the Delhi Police Crime Branch from a readymade garment factory in IMT Manesar, Gurugram, where he had been working as a tailor for the last two years, he said. Saahbjaan was involved in a dispute with his wife, according to police. Police said Firoj had severed contact with his native village after the murder and shifted to different places while concealing his identity and whereabouts.
“On February 18, 2002, a highly decomposed body of an approximately 35-year-old man was recovered from the DDA forest near Tughlaqabad Fort.
The body was covered with stones and the victim’s head had been brutally crushed,” the police officer said. “Firoj suspected Ansari’s family of being responsible for the circumstances leading to his brother’s suicide and had expressed his intention to take revenge,” he added.
