29-year manhunt ends: Brothers behind 1994 Thane murders nabbed in Varanasi

Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) [India], October 10 (ANI): In a joint operation, the Maharashtra Police and the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) arrested two brothers from Varanasi who had been on the run for 29 years after killing a woman and her four children in Thane, officials said on Tuesday.
According to police, the brothers, Anil Saroj and Sunil Saroj, had evaded arrest since 1994 and were apprehended on October 7, 2023.
On November 16, 1994, the two brothers, along with their accomplice, Kalia Chauhan alias Rajkumar Chauhan, brutally murdered a woman and her four children in Maharashtra's Thane district.
"The motive behind the murder was believed to be a dispute over missing Rs 3,000," they said.
One of the accused in the case was arrested by police in December 2022, while the two brothers remained absconding.
In 2009, they shifted to Kerakat in Uttar Pradesh's Jaunpur district, where they adopted fake identities and posed themselves as 'tantriks' (sorcerers), the police said.
During interrogation, the brothers revealed that in 1994, they resided in a chawl in Mumbai's Mira Road Bhayandar area and worked as laborers. They were neighbors of Raj Narayan Prajapati - the head of the victim's family, and were acquainted with his wife and children.
One day, Rs 3,000 cash went missing from Anil Saroj's suitcase. He suspected that Rajnarayan Prajapati's children had stolen the money, leading to frequent arguments between the two families.
On November 16, 1994, when Rajnarayan Prajapati went to work, Anil Saroj, his brother Sunil Saroj, in a planned manner along with their associate, Kalia Chauhan alias Rajkumar Chauhan, murdered Prajapati's wife and his four children using knives and other objects, the police said.
All three accused managed to flee after committing the murder.
In December 2022, Maharashtra Police arrested Kalia Chauhan, while Anil Saroj and his brother, Sunil Saroj, remained at large.
Officials said that the brother duo shifted to Delhi and worked as laborers while evading arrest for a long time.
On Saturday, the police received a tip-off that the accused brothers were going to visit Sarnag temple in Varanasi's Sarnath area.
Acting on this information, a joint team of Varanasi Police and the Maharashtra Crime Branch Police reached the location and nabbed the brother duo.
The police were further investigating the case. (ANI)