Delhi Police arrest UP-based transporter in 2007 abduction and murder case

The accused, identified as Hari Om, had been absconding since 2007 and was living in different states with women to pose as a “ married couple” and evade arrest, said the police.

The victim, Mahesh Choudhary, ran a taxi business in Delhi and was last seen on April 9, 2007. He left in his Tavera car to take two men to Kanpur and was to return home in a day. However, he did not and his son Rohit lodged a missing complaint. Mahesh’s body, however, could never be found.

“The investigating team back then found that Mahesh’s last calls were with Hari who lives in Kanpur but was absconding. He had stolen the SUV and was involved in another car theft case. A transporter, he frequently changed his address. He could not be arrested and the case was sent to the Records department in 2010,” said a police officer.

A crime branch team reopened the case last year and started looking for Hari through informers, technical surveillance and records.

“After a year of collecting information and verifying details, raids were conducted near Kanpur and the accused was arrested,” said deputy commissioner of police Amit Goel (crime branch). During interrogation, he confessed to his crime and said he hatched a conspiracy to kill the victim and steal his car with his associate Rakesh Chand, the DCP added.

According to the police, the duo contacted Mahesh and booked his cab for Kanpur. On the way, the accused offered liquor to Mahesh and got him drunk. They then allegedly strangled him to death, said the police.

“ They took Mahesh’s phone, wallet and other belongings. They took the SUV and dumped his body in a canal near Bulandshahr. They visited several relatives using the car but later found that police were looking for them and left the car,” said DCP Goel.

To evade arrest, Hari took his truck and started working in Maharashtra, Haryana, West Bengal and other states, the police said. They added that he got into relationships with several women to pose like a married couple.

“He also created several fake IDs with fake addresses in Indore, Ghaziabad, Kolkata and Mumbai to get work. We have recovered the victim’s voter ID card from his possession and documents of the stolen SUV,” added DCP Goel.