22 years after 14-year-old was found dead at West Delhi home, couple held in Bihar

The accused in the case — identified as Sikander alias Sukwa and his wife Manju — fled soon after the murder, police said. In July 2006, they were declared proclaimed offenders by Tis Hazari Court, officers said.

“Her throat had been slit with a knife. A PCR call followed. A murder case was registered under IPC Section 302,” DCP (Crime) Vikram Singh said.

“Sikander and his wife Manju conspired to kill the girl in her parents’ absence. After the murder, the couple fled first to Ghaziabad… then to Barauni (Bihar), and later to Kolkata. They worked as daily-wage labourers while evading arrest for over two decades,” DCP Singh said.

The case resurfaced when a Crime Branch team of the Delhi Police began reviewing unsolved heinous offences. “Technical surveillance and field verification showed that the accused were residing in a village in Banka district of Bihar,” DCP Singh said.

On February 10 this year, after camping in Bihar for 15 days, a police team arrested the couple.

During questioning, 60-year-old Sikander allegedly told police that he had worked as a labourer with the victim’s father on waterproofing projects. He claimed that had not been paid for years, police said. The girl’s father had allegedly also promised him a plot of land, but never kept it, police said.

Sikander, now allegedly battling his alcohol addiction, had been living in the village in Bihar with Manju, a homemaker, police said.