Killer on the run for 28 years walks straight into arms of police after landing at Mumbai airport

THANE: In a huge success, the Mira Bhayander-Vasai Virar police have cracked a 28-year-old five-murder case by nabbing one of the killers, who was absconding, after he landed in Mumbai by a flight from Qatar, a top official said here on Friday. Revealing the details of the sensational case, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Avinash Ambure said that the major breakthrough was achieved when the Kashimira police reopened the forgotten case.

"On November 17, 1994, three persons had attacked and brutally killed a 27-year-old woman, Chakramidevi Prajapati, and her four minor kids - Pramod (5), Pinky (3), Pintu (2) and a three-month-old toddler," Ambure told mediapersons.

The husband, Rajnarain Prajapati, had registered a complaint against the suspected killer trio -- Rajkumar A. Chauhan (now 48), and his two accomplices -- who fled to their villages in Uttar Pradesh.

The five murders were ostensibly carried out in revenge for a minor slight by the family, and the killer trio remained untraceable for years -- until the MBVV Police decided to reopen and conduct fresh investigation into the case that had ruled headlines for days then.

Last year, one of the investigating officers, Pushpendra Thapa, got a tip-off that Chauhan was probably living in a village near Varanasi and the team camped there for three weeks to gather information.

"Finally, they learnt that for the past 15 yearss, Chauhan was working in the Gulf countries like Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and they managed to procure his passport details and issued a look out circular against him," Ambure said.

They also learnt that every two years, Chauhan travelled to India to visit his family, and the last time he had come was in 2020.

After this, with the help of the Mumbai airport authorities and other agencies, the MBVV police teams lay in wait.

Late on Thursday, the efforts bore fruits with Chauhan walking straight into the arms of the police waiting patiently to catch him in the 28-year old case. He was produced before a Thane court and remanded to custody while further investigation is on to trace and arrest his two accomplices, said Ambure.