Delhi Murder Case Cracked After 40 Years: 82-Year-Old Man Arrested for Wife’s Killing

New Delhi- In a major breakthrough, Delhi Police have solved a murder case that remained unresolved for nearly four decades, arresting an 82-year-old man accused of killing his wife in 1986 and evading law enforcement ever since.

The accused, identified as Chandra Shekhar Prasad from Bihar’s Nalanda district, was apprehended from a storage facility in outer north Delhi, where he had allegedly been living under a false identity for years. Officials said he managed to stay off the radar by frequently changing locations and avoiding any formal documentation.

The case dates back to October 19, 1986, when Prasad, then around 40 years old, allegedly murdered his wife at their residence in Shakarpur, east Delhi. According to investigators, the killing was driven by suspicion over her character. During the incident, a domestic worker present in the house was reportedly threatened at gunpoint before the accused fled.

A case of murder was registered at the time, and Prasad was declared absconding by a court the following year. However, due to limited investigative resources and lack of digital records in that era, the trail went cold for decades.

Police officials said reopening the case required a combination of traditional intelligence gathering and modern surveillance techniques. Investigators began tracking the movements of his family members and monitored potential communication links to establish his whereabouts.

Clues eventually pointed to his continued existence, with inputs suggesting he occasionally visited his native place during family events. Acting on a tip-off linked to such a visit, police laid a trap and followed his movement back to Delhi, leading to his arrest on April 22.

During questioning, the accused reportedly admitted to the crime, stating that frequent disputes with his wife had escalated into a fatal act of violence before he fled.

Authorities revealed that during his years on the run, he lived in multiple states including Bihar, Punjab, and Haryana. He reportedly worked as a cycle rickshaw puller in Patiala and also spent time in a religious ashram to avoid detection.

Officials said the case highlights the persistence of law enforcement in pursuing justice, even in long-pending matters. Further investigation is ongoing to complete legal procedures and gather additional evidence.