The Government Railway Police (GRP) have arrested a man who had been on the run for 28 years after allegedly murdering his brother-in-law over a divorce dispute and staging the crime scene to look like a train accident, officials said on Thursday.
The main accused, identified as Sandeep Krishnan, 55, was apprehended in Bihar on October 18 by a special GRP team after being tracked through modern technical surveillance and data analysis.
According to the railway police officials, the incident dates back to January 14, 1998, when the station master informed the Dombivli railway police about a body lying on the tracks between Dombivli and Kopar stations.
After inspecting the scene, investigators grew suspicious as the nature of the injuries and the positioning of the body indicated a deliberate murder rather than a railway accident. The victim was subsequently identified as 22-year-old Shailesh More.
Investigation brought to light that More and the accused individuals, who were known to each other, had consumed alcohol together before a dispute broke out over past grievances.
The primary motive stemmed from resentment over the fact that the victim had divorced the sister of one of the accused, an official said.
During the altercation, the perpetrators strangled More to death and subsequently placed his body on the railway tracks to destroy evidence, he said.
Following the crime, the three co-accused went into hiding. Although the police had previously filed a chargesheet in court against the absconding suspects, they remained untraceable for nearly three decades.
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The breakthrough came recently when a special team was formed under the guidance of senior police officials to track down long-pending wanted criminals from old cold cases. Utilizing Call Detail Records (CDR) and mobile tower location data, investigators successfully traced Krishnan to Bihar, the official said.
A special police team was dispatched to Bihar, where they arrested the fugitive.
Krishnan was then presented before a local court in Bihar, which granted a transit warrant. He was brought back to Dombivli, and was produced in a court, which sent him to two days of police custody.
Efforts are still underway to track down the remaining accused involved in the case, the official added.