NEW DELHI: In the shadowy depths of Delhi’s criminal underbelly, it was sheer determination, iron-clad conviction, and relentless patience that drove ASI Ramesh of the Delhi Police to bring down a ghost from the past.
17 years had passed since a heinous crime rattled the core of justice. Today, that ghost has a name: Virender Singh.
Virender, hailing from Vaishali district, Bihar, had cloaked himself in anonymity in Delhi’s bustling streets back in June 2007.
He rented a nondescript apartment and within days, a 22-year-old woman was brutally slain and her body callously stuffed into a trunk. The gruesome discovery of her semi-decomposed remains by the police sent shockwaves through the community.
Back then, stationed at Kalkaji police station as a beat officer, ASI Ramesh spearheaded the initial hunt. While Virender slipped through the nets of justice, a co-accused was captured, and Virender was declared a proclaimed offender by the courts. Yet he vanished like a wisp of smoke.
The trail went cold as years ticked by, and Ramesh moved on, transferred to other posts. However, fate had a twist in 2017, when Ramesh had been reassigned to Kalkaji. The ghost of the case still haunted the alleys of Delhi, and Virender Singh was still out there.
Rekindling old contacts and scouring through the murky lanes of the flesh trade—a sinister business Virender had delved into—Ramesh picked up the scent again. Intelligence led him to Panipat, Haryana, where Virender was believed to be hiding. Despite numerous raids and close calls, the slippery suspect evaded capture, always one step ahead.
The breakthrough finally came in 2024.
Now a seasoned officer in the Crime Branch’s Anti-Gangs Squad, ASI Ramesh took up the gauntlet once more. His relentless pursuit brought him to Govindpuri and Kalkaji, where whispers in the dark corners of the city revealed Virender’s new haunt in Vijay Vihar, Rohini.
“Technical surveillance and old-fashioned police work paid off. We caught him after 17 relentless years,” declared DCP Amit Goel.
Arriving in Delhi in 1991, Virender initially eked out a living as a taxi driver in CR Park. Even after returning to Delhi in 2019 and settling in Rohini, Virender continued his vile trade under the guise of a commission agent, exploiting vulnerable young girls from across the country.
Victim trafficked
Virendra’s descent into the flesh trade saw him trafficking young girls from West Bengal into a life of despair.
“The victim was bought for a mere Rs 10,000,” the DCP said.
“When she resisted due to illness, he murdered her in cold blood, locked her body in an iron box, and stashed the evidence under the very roof he lived under before fleeing to Kolkata,” he added.