New Delhi: In a major breakthrough, the Crime Branch of Delhi Police has arrested a fugitive murder accused who had been absconding for nearly five years after jumping interim bail, the Delhi Police said on Friday.
The accused, 42-year-old Animesh Jha, was wanted in the 2017 murder of his mother in Dwarka and had been declared a Proclaimed Offender by a Delhi court in October 2024.
According to officials, Jha was traced and arrested from the Indo-Nepal border in Uttar Pradesh’s Maharajganj district following months of sustained technical surveillance and Intelligence-driven tracking.
“The arrest was made from the Indo-Nepal border area after months of continuous tracking, Intelligence collection, and advanced mobile-based surveillance,” the police said in its press note.
A dedicated team of WR-II/Crime Branch, led by Inspector Gautam Malik and supervised by ACP Rajpal Dabas, apprehended him late on the intervening night of December 3 and 4 from Nautan Road near Sonauli.
Police said Jha, a B.Tech graduate and resident of Dwarka, had fled to Nepal after securing interim bail during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
“He was granted interim bail in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic but failed to join the trial thereafter and absconded to Nepal to evade the due process of law,” the police said.
Despite repeated court summons, he never returned to face trial, leading to his proclamation as an absconder in FIR No. 58/2017, registered under Section 302 IPC at PS Dwarka North.
The case dates back to February 28, 2017, when the police received a distress call from the deceased woman’s daughter, who reported that her mother had not responded to calls for two to three days.
She also expressed suspicion about her brother, citing frequent quarrels between him and their mother. When police reached the residence, they found the woman murdered.
Investigations revealed that Jha allegedly killed his mother over suspicions that she intended to transfer her property to his sister.
Police said he harboured resentment due to frequent disputes and his alleged drug-consumption habits, which strained the family relationship.
Following his interim bail, Jha crossed into Nepal to evade judicial proceedings, prompting the Crime Branch to intensify efforts to locate him.
Officials said the breakthrough came through advanced mobile-based technical analysis and continuous monitoring of his suspected movement across the border region.
“The arrest of Animesh Jha marks a significant achievement for the Crime Branch in ensuring that absconding offenders are brought to justice and that fair and timely trial proceedings are upheld,” said DCP Harsh Indora.
(IANS)
