20 yrs on, fugitive soldier held for wife’s murder

Anil Kumar Tiwari, who worked as a driver in the Indian Army, wrapped his hands around his wife’s neck and strangled her to death in May 1989. The accused later burnt the body to destroy evidence.

He allegedly tried to make it look like a suicide, but the evidence told a far more chilling story. Convicted of her murder later that year and sentenced to life in prison, Tiwari was locked away till November 2005 when he was granted a two-week parole by the Delhi High Court. However, he jumped the parole and absconded.

Acting on intelligence, a Crime Branch team from Delhi arrested 58-year-old Tiwari after an extensive search from his native place at Sidhi in Madhya Pradesh on April 12. For two decades, he evaded arrest by using no mobile phone. He only used cash, aliases and was constantly on the move.

“Tiwari was extremely cautious. He worked as a driver in several cities and changed his identity and location frequently,” DCP (Crime Branch) Aditya Gautam said, adding that the convict made sure that no digital trail was left behind. Tiwari got remarried and had four children from his second wife.

Back in 1989, the police said Tiwari’s initial effort to present the incident as a suicide quickly fell under forensic scrutiny. The case was registered at the Delhi Cantt police station under Section 302 of the IPC and Tiwari was arrested the same month.

His parole in 2005 marked the beginning of a manhunt that stretched for nearly two decades. Leads placed him in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, and later in his native place in Sidhi where boots on the ground finally closed the case. The convict is now back behind the bars.

Delhi