The Delhi Police Crime Branch has arrested Natthu alias Natthulal, a 65-year-old man from Hardoi district, Uttar Pradesh, who had been absconding for over 42 years in connection with a 1984 murder case registered at Janakpuri police station in New Delhi. The accused was apprehended on 18 August 2025 by the Central Range of the Crime Branch following months of sustained field investigation.

The 1984 Murder

The case stems from the intervening night of 22–23 May 1984, when the body of Ashok Kumar, a resident of Sitapur district, Uttar Pradesh, was found in District Park, Vikaspuri, West Delhi, bearing multiple knife injuries. A First Information Report — FIR No. 252/1984 dated 23 May 1984 — was registered under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.

During the initial investigation, police established the alleged involvement of Bhabhuti Prashad, also a Sitapur resident and a friend of Natthu. Prashad was subsequently arrested and the knife allegedly used in the crime was recovered. Natthu, however, slipped through the net and remained a fugitive for more than four decades.

Why It Took 42 Years

According to police, the passage of time severely degraded the available investigative trail. Old case records contained limited information, and witnesses and leads had scattered across Uttar Pradesh over the decades. The Crime Branch designated the pending arrest a special priority and constituted a dedicated team to pursue it.

Investigators spent several months conducting field verification across Sitapur and Hardoi districts. During checks in Pali village in Hardoi, the team received credible inputs that the accused was alive and made occasional visits to his native village. On 17 August, a person matching the physical profile developed by investigators was reportedly spotted in the village, prompting intensified surveillance.

The Arrest Operation

On 18 August, acting on specific intelligence, the Crime Branch team intercepted Natthu alias Natthulal while he was travelling towards Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh and apprehended him. The operation was led by Inspector Sunil Kumar Kalkhande, with SI Devender Antil and Head Constables Vijay Singh Yadav, Samander, Jai Singh, Parveen Kumar, Rahul, Vinod, Ankit and Anoop as part of the team. The effort was supervised by ACP Central Range Satendra Mohan under the overall guidance of DCP Crime Branch Aditya Gautam.

Alleged Motive and Background

According to police, the deceased Ashok Kumar and co-accused Bhabhuti Prashad hailed from the same village. Investigators allege that Kumar had made illicit advances towards Prashad's wife, triggering a dispute. On the night of the murder, all parties had reportedly consumed liquor together in a park before Natthu and Prashad allegedly acted in furtherance of a common intention to kill Kumar.

During his decades-long evasion, Natthu reportedly worked in wholesale vegetable markets at various locations across Uttar Pradesh and lived alone, never marrying. Police note that he is also named in FIR No. 1790/2005 under Section 364 of the IPC at Kotwali police station, Farrukhabad, in a separate kidnapping case.

What Happens Next

With Natthu now in custody, the 1984 Janakpuri murder case — pending before the courts for over four decades — is expected to move toward trial. The arrest is one of the longest fugitive-evasion cases closed by the Delhi Police in recent years, and underscores the Crime Branch's ongoing effort to clear decades-old pending warrants.