10 October,2023 03:09 PM IST | Varanasi | mid-day online correspondent
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The Mumbai Police and Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF), in a joint operation, arrested two brothers from Varanasi who were absconding for 29 years after killing a family in Thane, officials told ANI.
On Tuesday, the officials said the brothers - Anil Saroj and Sunil Saroj - had evaded arrest since 1994 after they killed a woman and her four children. The two were arrested on October 7, 2023.
According to a report in ANI, the two accused persons along with their accomplice Kalia Chauhan alias Rajkumar, had brutally killed a woman and her four children in Thane on November 16, 1994.
Reportedly, the killing happened due to a dispute over money. The officials were quoted in the report saying, "The motive behind the murder was believed to be a dispute over missing Rs 3,000."
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Chauhan was arrested by the cops in December last year, however, the brother duo remained elusive.
Reportedly, the accused moved to Jaunpur district's Kerakat village in 2009; adopted fake identities and posed as âtantriks' (sorcerers).
During the probe, the brothers said in 1994 they were working as labourers and lived in a chawl in Mumbai's Mira Road area. They were the victim's neighbours and were acquainted with Raj Narayan Prajapati, the head of the victim's family.
Rs 3000 cash went missing from Anil's suitcase and he suspected Prajapati's children had stolen the money. This led to the families arguing frequently. On November 16, 1994, when Prajapati had gone to work, Anil and his brother Sunil with their accomplice murdered the neighbours using knives and other objects, the report stated.
All accused managed to flee after committing the crime; however, Kalia Chauhan got arrested last year. The report quoted officials saying that the two brothers moved to Delhi and worked as labourers while evading arrest for a long time.
On Saturday, the police received a tip-off that the accused duo would visit the Sarnag temple in Varanasi. Based on this, a joint team of Varanasi Police and Maharashtra Crime Branch Police reached the location and arrested the brother duo; further probe is underway.
