New Delhi, April 11 The Delhi Police have cracked a 35-year-old murder case with the arrest of a proclaimed offender who is alleged to have killed his landlord and injured her son in a robbery case in 1991, an official said on Saturday.
The accused, identified as Chhavi Lal Verma, has been accused of deliberately avoiding returning to his hometown for years to evade arrest, and also skipping major family events, including his children's weddings.
"The case dates back to August 2, 1991, when a PCR call was received regarding a violent incident at West Vinod Nagar. A police team rushed to the spot and found the woman lying unconscious with multiple stab injuries on her neck, while her son, who was around 18-20 years old at the time, had sustained stab wounds on his face," the police officer said.
Both victims were taken to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital, where the woman succumbed to her injuries, while her son survived after treatment.
During the investigation, it emerged that Verma, who was around 25 years old at the time of the incident, was a tenant in the victim's house in east Delhi's Trilok Puri area. He had attacked the duo with a sharp-edged weapon, police said.
Police said he targeted the woman with the intention of robbery, believing that she possessed a significant amount of cash as her husband was residing abroad.
"When the landlord and her son resisted, he attacked them repeatedly with a chopper and fled," the officer said.
Following the incident, Verma went into hiding and managed to evade arrest despite efforts by the local police. He was eventually declared a proclaimed offender by a Delhi court on May 10, 1996.
"The case remained pending for decades, with the accused successfully staying out of sight by constantly changing his identity and location," the officer said.
The breakthrough came when a team from the Crime Branch reopened the case and began fresh efforts to trace the accused. A dedicated team was tasked with tracking him down.
Over the past six months, the team worked meticulously, combining technical surveillance with field intelligence.
"Officers revisited old case records, tracked down past associates, and conducted extensive inquiries in the accused's native village in Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh, as well as other locations linked to his relatives," the officer said.
Despite multiple leads turning cold, the team persisted and developed fresh inputs regarding his possible whereabouts.
It is believed that he moved across several cities, including Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur, and Goa, before eventually settling in Punjab. During this period, he frequently changed jobs and identities, working in low-profile roles to avoid attracting attention.
"Based on credible intelligence, the team finally traced his presence to Ludhiana. A raiding team was immediately dispatched, and after sustained local verification and surveillance, Verma was apprehended on April 10," the officer said.
At the time of his arrest, he was working as a security guard at a commercial establishment in Ludhiana, police said.
During interrogation, Verma confessed to the crime and revealed that the financial motive was the primary reason behind the attack. He admitted that he had planned the robbery after assuming that his landlord had significant cash reserves.
"His plan turned violent when the victims resisted, leading to the death and attempted murder," the officer said.
Police said Verma managed to evade arrest for over three decades by living a highly cautious life, avoiding any contact that could expose his identity, and continuously relocating across states.
"Following his arrest, the Crime Branch informed the concerned police station in Trilok Puri for further legal proceedings. Further investigation into the matter is underway," the officer said.