For over a decade, residents of a Ludhiana neighbourhood knew him as a quiet, soft-spoken carpenter named Joginder Singh. He spoke fluent Punjabi, carried an Aadhaar card, and participated in local elections, blending seamlessly into the community. However, this meticulously crafted identity shattered on Monday when Delhi Police's Crime Branch officers arrived at his doorstep, revealing the man was actually a fugitive who had murdered his wife in 1992 and vanished after jumping parole.
The 1992 Murder and a Life Sentence
The grim story began on March 15, 1992, in southwest Delhi's Pillangi village. Police discovered a woman's strangled body on a mattress in a rented house. The victim was the wife of Yoginder Singh, a furniture shop worker originally from Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. Yoginder was caught by the landlord's brother after a brief chase as he tried to flee the scene.
By 1997, a court had convicted and sentenced Yoginder Singh to life imprisonment for the murder. His freedom, however, was short-lived after a legal reprieve. In June 2000, the Delhi High Court granted him a four-week parole. He walked out of prison and never returned, becoming a fugitive from justice.
A Fugitive's Journey and a New Identity in Punjab
For years, Yoginder lived on the run, constantly changing locations to evade capture. He moved through the mountains of Himachal Pradesh and the villages of Bihar and West Bengal before reaching Karnataka, spending two to three years in each state.
In 2012, he decided to settle down permanently in Punjab. Here, he masterminded a complete reinvention. He changed his name from Yoginder Singh to Joginder Singh and even altered his father's name from Jai Prakash to Jaipal. He mastered the Punjabi language to sound like a native, procured a new Aadhaar card and voter ID under his assumed name, and began working as a carpenter.
For the next 14 years, he led an unassuming life, convinced that his past was buried forever and that Yoginder Singh, the wife-killer, was dead to the world.
The Cold Trail Heats Up: A 32-Year Manhunt Concludes
For the Delhi Police, however, the trail never went cold. Acting on a tip-off, they began verifying the identities of over 500 people across Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Towards the end of December last year, a special team spent ten days operating undercover in Ludhiana. They were tracking a man who matched the physical description of the murderer but went by a different name.
Finally, on January 5, the police decided to move in. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav recounted the dramatic arrest. "When Yoginder sensed their presence in his locality, he attempted to flee on a motorcycle. Following a high-speed chase through the streets of the bustling area, he was finally tackled to the ground," said DCP Yadav.
The man known as Joginder Singh for 14 years was finally unmasked as Yoginder Singh, the fugitive. He has now been sent back to Tihar Jail to serve out the remainder of his life sentence, closing a chapter on a manhunt that lasted for an astonishing 32 years.
