New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) In a big breakthrough, Delhi Police’s Crime Branch has arrested Ajay Lamba alias Bansi, a notorious criminal who had been on the run for 25 years.

Wanted in four brutal robbery-cum-murder cases across Delhi and Uttarakhand, Lamba was apprehended by the NDR/R.K. Puram team after a long and meticulous operation involving both technical and manual surveillance.

The accused, declared a proclaimed offender, has been evading arrest since 2001 in connection with FIR No. 77/2001 registered at PS New Ashok Nagar under sections 302, 307, 201, 392, and 34 of the IPC. A school dropout from Krishna Nagar, Delhi, Lamba took to crime at a young age and was once listed as a Bad Character from PS Vikas Puri.

By 1996, he had changed his identity and relocated to Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, where he formed a deadly alliance with associates Dhirendra and Dilip Negi. His modus operandi was chilling: the gang would hire taxi drivers, murder them, loot their vehicles, and dump the bodies in remote hilly terrains to avoid detection.

The stolen vehicles were reportedly sold in Nepal. Between 1999 and 2001, four such cases were registered against him in Delhi, Haldwani, Almora, and Champawat.

“He lived in Nepal for about ten years from 2008 to 2018 and then shifted to Dehradun with his family. In 2020, he allegedly became involved in the ganja supply chain from Odisha to other parts of India, including Delhi,” said Aditya Gautam, DCP, Crime Branch.

In 2021, he was arrested in a case under the NDPS Act in PS Sagarpur, and again in 2024 for a jewellery shop dacoity in Behrampur, Odisha – both times securing bail without disclosing his fugitive status.

The arrest was carried out by a team led by Inspectors Rakesh Kumar and Anuj Kumar, along with SIs Amit, Yatander Malik, and other team members.

Further investigation is underway to trace his remaining network and past activities.

–IANS

sas/dan