Delhi Police nab fugitive kidnapper in Mumbai after 25-year hunt

New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) A quarter‑century manhunt for a proclaimed offender in a sensational 2000 kidnapping case ended this week when the Crime Branch of Delhi Police arrested Suneet Agarwal alias ‘Pappi’ from his jewellery business in Malad, Mumbai.

Agarwal, 46, had vanished after securing bail in 2000 for the abduction and extortion of Ghaziabad resident Shree Nath Yadav.

According to the original FIR (No. 53/2000, PS Kotwali), Agarwal and his brothers allegedly kidnapped Yadav on 29 January 2000, beat him, held him at gunpoint in a Kalkaji bungalow basement, and demanded ransom from Yadav’s employer, fabric trader Ram Gopal.

All three brothers skipped court appearances and were declared proclaimed offenders on 15 October 2004. Acting on fresh intelligence, a team from the Anti-Robbery and Snatching Cell (ARSC) led by Inspectors Mangesh Tyagi and Robin Tyagi, and supervised by ACP Arvind Kumar, tracked Agarwal through a web of aliases, burner phones and frequently changed addresses.

On 4 July 2025, the team, assisted by SI Sandeep Sandhu and constables Amit, Naveen and Anuj Sirohi, mounted a covert operation in Malad, using technical surveillance and human sources to confirm his identity before making the arrest. Police say Agarwal reinvented himself in Maharashtra after fleeing Delhi.

He is a B.Com dropout from Delhi University, and he first ran a two‑wheeler finance outfit in Thane, got married in 2004, then spent five years in an imitation‑jewellery factory before setting up his own wholesale venture in 2015.

He relocated every six months, avoided relatives and neighbours, and used multiple mobile numbers to stay off the radar.

“Following his arrest, the accused was subjected to intensive interrogation, during which he revealed his long-standing efforts to evade law enforcement agencies. It was also uncovered that he had been frequently changing his appearances, addresses, and mobile numbers to avoid detection,” said DCP Sanjeev Kumar Yadav.

“Even he was not in touch with his neighbours and relatives to keep him safe. Taking extra precautions to evade arrest, the fugitive had been frequently changing his location by relocating approximately every six months within Maharashtra,” he added.

He has one son who is pursuing Business Finance from Thakur College, Kandivali East, Mumbai, Maharashtra.

--IANS

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