NEW DELHI: A 42-year-old man, wanted for allegedly killing his mother in 2017 and who evaded trial for four years after securing interim bail during the Covid-19 pandemic, has been arrested from the Indo-Nepal border, police said on Friday.
The accused, Animesh Jha, a resident of Dwarka, had been declared a proclaimed offender. He was granted interim bail in 2020 but failed to join the trial thereafter and fled to Nepal to avoid the due process of law, officials said.
“The incident was reported on February 28, 2017, at Dwarka North police station by the daughter of the deceased, stating that her mother had not been responding to calls for the past two to three days. She suspected something untoward might have happened and alleged that her brother, Animesh, who frequently quarrelled with their mother, could be involved,” an officer said.
When police reached the house, they found the woman dead. Animesh was arrested soon after, and during questioning, he confessed he had murdered his mother because he believed she intended to transfer all her property to his sister and did not care for him.
After failing to surrender following his interim bail, Jha was declared a proclaimed offender and remained on the run since 2020.
Police said they conducted advanced mobile-based analysis, gathered intelligence inputs and maintained sustained surveillance across suspected hideouts. His movements were finally traced to Uttar Pradesh’s Maharajganj district near the Indo-Nepal border.
On the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, a team tracked him near Sonauli and apprehended him from Nautan Road, DCP (Crime) Harsh Indora said.
Police said Jha had developed drug consumption habits after graduation, resulting in frequent disputes with his mother, which ultimately led to the murder.