Accused was using aliases to hid his identity
PrashantNews
Ten years after allegedly killing his friend in Almora district of Uttarakhand, a murder accused has been arrested from Thane near Mumbai, a top police official said on Thursday.
Nagraj alias Tilakraj Singh, a resident of Pundal village in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh, was arrested from ‘Paya Soup Bar’ in Thane near Mumbai. Nagraj was brought to Lamgarha police station in Almora on Thursday on a transit remand, said Ayush Agrawal Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF).
On October 14, 2014, a half-burnt skeleton was found in Lamgarha which was identified as Gulab Singh, who was also a native of Pundal village in Mandi. Nagraj and Singh, who were friends, used to work as a resin extractor in Lamgarha.
Police investigation revealed that following a dispute between the two over a petty issue, Nagraj allegedly killed Singh with a sharp-edged weapon. Nagraj later hid the body in a field after burning the face to erase the identity. After committing the crime, Nagraj escaped to his home in Himachal Pradesh.
When Nagraj’s involvement was confirmed, efforts were made to arrest him but Nagraj fled from his Mandi house to escape the police dragnet. Meanwhile, the police also attached his house property but Nagraj remained out of reach.
A few days ago, two STF personnel were sent to Mandi from where they got information that Nagraj was in Mumbai. After this, an STF team was sent to Mumbai where they succeeded in arresting him with the help of local police.
During interrogation, Nagraj said he was living in Mumbai for the last 10 years using different aliases. He had worked in Mumbai in various hotels and restaurants. He said he used to change his work place frequently to hide his identity. And finally, Nagraj was arrested from ‘Paya Soup Bar’ under Antop Hill police station in Thane by the STF.