On the run for 4 years, rape accused nabbed from Jhansi

THE MAN HAD FOUND A JOB AS A MATHEMATICS TEACHER AT A PRIVATE SCHOOL, POLICE SAID

NEWDELHI: A 26-year-old man who was wanted for an alleged rape in Delhi for over four years was arrested last week from Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi, police officials said. The man had fled his house in south Delhi and had been working as a school teacher, police said.

The arrested man, identified by the police as Sandeep Kumar Yadav, had been evading arrest since November 2014 when a woman had filed a case against him at the Sangam Vihar police station. She accused him of allegedly marrying her despite being already married and then raping her.

Police said Yadav had fled from his rented home in Delhi’s Govindpuri after he learnt about the case. He was not staying in touch with his family living in Uttar Pradesh’s Hamirpur to avoid arrest. He had shifted to Jhansi and was teaching mathematics at a private school there.

Deputy commissioner of police (southeast) Chinmoy Biswal said that on November 24, 2014, a woman had filed a rape case against Yadav. In her complaint, she told police that they were in a “relationship” for 10 years and that on August 23, 2014, they had got married at a temple without informing their families. Later they shifted to Kanpur, police said.

The woman alleged that after 10 days in Kanpur, Sandeep brought her back to Delhi and left her at her parents’ home. He told her he would return “after some days”. But when he did not contact her, she became suspicious and enquired about him from his friends.

“She learnt that Yadav had already been married before in 2013. Despite being still married, he married and sexually exploited her. We registered a case started a probe,” said a police officer who asked not to be named.

Investigators visited Yadav’s rented home in Govindpuri but did not find him there. They approached his family, were told that Yadav had not been in touch with them. Despite several raids, police were unable to track him.

A Delhi court declared him a proclaimed offender (PO) in July 2015 after police failed to trace his whereabouts and arrest him.

“A few days ago, the police learnt that Yadav was hiding in Jhansi. The information was developed and a team was sent there. He was arrested on September 15,” said DCP Biswal.