Delhi cops pose as snack vendors to nab fugitive human trafficker in UP

New Delhi, Mar 10 (PTI) A 36-year-old proclaimed offender has been arrested by Delhi Police officers who posed as snack cart vendors near a liquor shop in Uttar Pradesh's Jalaun district, an official said on Monday.

The accused, Anil Kumar (36), was wanted in a case of abduction, rape and human trafficking under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and Immoral Trafficking Act, he said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Aditya Gautam said, "Anil, a resident of Jhansi, was apprehended from Ram Nagar area in Jalaun district on March 7 after an undercover operation. He was declared a proclaimed offender in a case linked to pushing a minor girl from Delhi into prostitution and later selling her off in Bihar." After being initially arrested in the case, Anil secured bail and absconded, selling off his properties in Nihal Vihar and Jhansi and changing his identity to evade law, Gautam said.

The DCP said despite multiple attempts, including the issuance of non-bailable warrants, Anil remained elusive, frequently changing his identity and residence across Eastern Uttar Pradesh.

The police achieved a major breakthrough when a head constable, Ajay, traced suspicious phone numbers linked to Jalaun district, he said. Further investigations revealed that Anil lived alone in a rented house and was a regular liquor consumer.

"To apprehend him, police officers posed as vendors and parked a snack cart near a liquor shop to identify his routines and nabbed him. During interrogation, Anil confessed that in 2019, he and his associates lured the minor girl from outer Delhi, forced her into prostitution, and eventually sold her to a person in Chhapra in Bihar," the DCP said.

Anil was brought to Delhi and formally placed under arrest, he added. PTI BM BM RUK RUK