New Delhi, Sep 18 (IANS) — A 27-year-old man wanted in a sensational murder case in Delhi’s Sarita Vihar has been arrested by police after evading capture for nearly two years.
The accused, identified as Somnath Patro, was the prime suspect in the killing of 39-year-old Ardhendu Mandal, who was brutally murdered with knives on September 15, 2023, near his residence at Aali Vihar. The next day, Sarita Vihar Police registered FIR No. 491/2023 under sections 147/148/149/174A/302/323/34 of the IPC.
While five of Patro’s accomplices were arrested soon after the crime, he managed to escape and had been on the run since. In 2023, a Delhi court declared him a Proclaimed Offender in the case.
According to police, the breakthrough came after the Anti-Narcotics Squad mounted sustained technical and manual surveillance on Patro’s movements. Head Constable Mohit Vashisth eventually traced him to Gurugram, where he had been living under an assumed identity and working as a delivery boy.
A team led by Inspector Vishnu Dutt, along with SI Sudhir, ASI Upender, and head constables Mohit, Karamveer, Kuldeep, and Pradeep, carried out a raid near Lohiya Farms in Bhondsi, Gurugram, and successfully apprehended the fugitive.
During questioning, Patro admitted he had been evading police by frequently changing mobile phones and SIM cards to avoid detection. He was earlier involved in another criminal case registered at CR Park Police Station in Delhi.
Patro, who previously lived in a jhuggi near Kali Mandir in Sarita Vihar, is now in police custody and will face trial in the murder case.
