Ex-Indian Army soldier apprehended after jumping parole for wife’s murder

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police’s Crime Branch arrested a former Indian Army soldier after he jumped parole following a life sentence for the murder of his wife.

An anonymous source tipped the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police about the criminal.

The accused has been identified as Anil Kumar Tiwari (58), a resident of Churhat, Sidhi, Madhya Pradesh.

According to the police, Tiwari was convicted for the brutal murder of his wife in 1989, a case that shook the Delhi Cantt area.

The crime was registered under an FIR on May 14, 1989, under Section 302 of the IPC. Tiwari had strangled his wife and set her on fire in an attempt to stage her death as suicide.

A detailed inquiry by the concerned SDM led to the arrest of Tiwari on May 31, 1989. After a court trial, he was sentenced to life imprisonment and subsequently dismissed from the Indian Army in 2005.

However, on November 21, 2005, he was granted interim parole for two weeks by the Delhi High Court, which he violated, disappearing without a trace.

A dedicated team from the Crime Branch, led by Inspector Mahipal and supervised by Inspector Satendra Mohan and Ramesh Chander Lamba, began a renewed effort to track him down.

The team employed both technical surveillance and traditional methods to gather clues, eventually tracing him to Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, and then to his native village in Madhya Pradesh.

Acting on fresh intelligence, the team conducted a raid in Churhat on April 12 and successfully apprehended the fugitive. During interrogation, Tiwari confessed to deliberately avoiding detection.

He never used a mobile phone, frequently changed his location and work, and dealt only in cash to leave no digital footprint.

He had been sustaining himself as a driver and had even remarried, now fathering four children.

Tiwari joined the Indian Army in 1986 and served for 18 years in various parts of the country.

However, his domestic life was marred by frequent quarrels, culminating in the murder of his wife in 1989.

His attempt to pass the incident off as a suicide was exposed during the investigation, leading to his conviction and dismissal from service.

Authorities have confirmed that relevant legal and correctional bodies have been notified of his arrest.