New Delhi:

A former Navy employee, who had been living under a false identity after faking his death, has been arrested for allegedly choking a man to death and setting two others on fire nearly 20 years back.

Balesh Kumar, now 60, was arrested after Delhi Police received information that a man wanted for a 2004 murder in Delhi’s Bawana locality was living at Najafgarh, nearly 30 km away. Kumar had changed his name to Aman Singh and had been working as a property dealer, Delhi Police crime branch senior officer Ravinder Yadav said.

When the police arrested Kumar following an investigation that confirmed their suspicions, chilling details came to the fore.

Originally from Haryana, Kumar had studied till Class 8. He joined the Navy in 1981 and retired in 1996. After that, he started a transport business and lived in Delhi’s Uttam Nagar with his family.

Kumar has told police that he and his brother Sunder Lal had choked a person named Rajesh at Delhi’s Samaypur Badli in 2004. He has said the three were drinking when an altercation broke out over an alleged extramarital affair between Kumar and Rajesh’s wife. The argument turned to a scuffle, and Kumar and his brother, both intoxicated, choked Rajesh to death.

Kumar then plotted an escape plan. He hired two labourers from Bihar, Manoj and Mukesh, from Delhi’s Samaypur Badli, and promised them work. The three then left for Rajasthan in a truck belonging to Kumar’s brother. At Jodhpur, Kumar allegedly set the truck on fire, with the labourers inside. He then left his documents inside. When police reached the spot, one of the bodies was identified as that of Kumar’s. The other body was not identified.

When Rajesh’s murder case came up in court, police said Sunder Lal had been arrested and Kumar was dead in the truck fire.

Kumar’s wife got his pension benefits and life insurance amount. The insurance for the truck was also routed to his wife. His past identity and crimes had been well covered up, till luck ran out.

Delhi Police have now asked their Jodhpur counterparts to reopen the truck fire case following the new revelations.

New Delhi:

A 60-year-old ex-Navy employee who faked his death for 20 years was arrested by Delhi Police Crime Branch for allegedly killing a relative and burning to death two labourers, police said on Tuesday. Balesh Kumar was arrested from a house in Najafgarh where he was staying with his family having changed his name to Aman Singh, police said.

Balesh was 40 when he allegedly killed his brother-in-law, Rajesh alias Khushiram, over money in Delhi’s Bawana area in 2004. He also allegedly had an illicit relationship with Rajesh’s wife.

Police in 2004 arrested Balesh’s brother Sundar Lal, who was also involved in Rajesh’s murder, however, Balesh managed to give them a slip.

According to Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav, Balesh, who was in a transport business then, escaped in a truck to Rajasthan.

There he set his truck on fire and burned two of his workers to death.

“Rajasthan Police during the course of investigation identified one of the persons as Balesh, while the other body remained unclaimed. The family members of Balesh also identified one of the bodies as his,” Yadav said.

Rajasthan Police closed the case assuming the prime suspect was dead.

After faking his death, Balesh fled to Punjab and managed to procure forged identity proof with the help of his family members and changed his name to Aman Singh.

“He remained in touch with his wife and managed to transfer his insurance claim benefits and pension from the Indian Navy to her. Also, the truck involved in the incident was registered in the name of his brother Mahinder Singh, who allowed him to claim the insurance. He got an insurance claim for the truck into the account of his wife,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ankit Kumar said.

Balesh then moved to Delhi’s Najafgarh with his family and started living with them.

“On a secret tip-off, we managed to nab him from his house on Monday. During the interrogation, he confessed his involvement in the murder of his relative and two labourers from Bihar,” Kumar said.

The Delhi Police has informed its counterpart in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur about Balesh’s arrest and asked them to reopen the burnt truck case.

The Delhi Police claimed that Balesh had also stolen antique items in 2000 from Delhi’s Kota House and was booked for theft at Tilak Marg Police Station.

Police are probing the role of Balesh’s wife and other family members in his crimes and they all will be prosecuted accordingly, Kumar said.

Balesh, a native of Haryana’s Panipat, studied up to class 8. In 1981, he joined the Indian Navy as a Steward and served there till 1996.

“After retirement, he took a house on rent in Delhi’s Uttam Nagar,” the officer said.

At the time of his arrest, Balesh was working as a property dealer in Najafgarh. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)