NEW DELHI: Her murderer missed the inked peacock on her back when he hacked her to death. When a brutally-killed Neetu Solanki was found in a gunny sack, it was the bird that helped police identify her. Had her live-in-partner Raju Gehlot known this, he would have butchered the 28-year-old more, leaving no trace of the tattoo on her. Gehlot, who worked with an airline, has been missing since the incident in February 11, 2011. He was declared a Proclaimed Offender (PO) on October 19, 2012, by a court. He carries a reward of `2 lakh on his head, an amount that can never bring Neetu back to life.
Just like Gehlot, there are 17,100 rapists, murderers and burglars lurking in the streets of Delhi, waiting patiently for the next Neetu or Nirbhaya to cross their path. These criminals have been declared POs, and their names are lying in criminal record books across 162 police stations of the national capital. Out of the total POs, around five per cent are women, mostly involved in human trafficking.
On October 11, 1999, it was the foul smell that led neighbours to the decaying body of Ram Swaroop in Uttam Nagar. Police is yet to arrest the three accused who killed Swaroop. They were declared POs in 2005 by a city court. The police commissioner declared `5,000 reward on each of them, but they are still roaming free, without guilt. Another life, another price.
In 1998, a 17-year-old girl was raped in Roop Nagar in North Delhi. Police identified the accused as Govinder Yadav, but he is yet to be nabbed. In 2001, the court declared him a PO. He is still untraceable. In 2005, another criminal, Rohit raped a 26-year-old woman in Subhash Place, West Delhi and threatened her with dire consequences. After 11 years, Rohit is still at large. Like Rohit, many rapists have been absconding for more than two decades.
In 1996, Rakesh Agarwal kidnapped a girl and raped her in a flat in Quresh Nagar, North Delhi. Declared a PO a year after, he is lost forever and justice awaits the victim. On August 22, 2009, a 14-year-old was gangraped near Som Bazar Road by two men, helped by a juvenile. Two were apprehended, while one is missing.
Apart from rapists, many burglars are roaming free. In 1995, Kisan Ram and his accomplice robbed a businessman of `26 lakh in house in Delhi’s Roop Nagar. Police identified all, but Ram is yet to be caught.
For police it’s a game of figures: too many absconders and too few officers; the task of nabbing POs lies with investigating officers in police stations and Crime Branch. While the authorities are busy blaming the rising number of absconding criminals and deciding a price for them, an unnamed danger lurks in every corner of Delhi’s unsafe streets.
17,096
Total proclaimed offenders
New Delhi: 746
North Delhi: 1,915
Central Delhi: 2,268
North West Delhi: 1,337
Outer Delhi: 1,216
East Delhi: 990
Northeast Delhi: 1,161
South Delhi: 1,652
Southeast Delhi: 1,717
South West Delhi: 928
West Delhi: 2,072
Railway Police: 1,094
7,256
History-sheeters, of which police are unable to trace 512
Who is a Proclaimed Offender?
A person who, despite summons being issued against him, fails to appear before the court on the date and time specified