Bengaluru: On the Run for 11 Years, Ex-IAF Man Who Killed Wife, Two Children in 2008 Arrested from Assam
An ex-sergeant of the Indian Air Force, who was under trial for the alleged murders of his wife and children, was arrested by Bengaluru police after being on the run for 11 years. The culprit, Dharam Singh Yadav, was arrested in Assam and brought back to the city.
Back in 2008, Dharam Singh Yadav from Haryana was married and living with his wife, Anu, and two children, eight-year-old Shubham and 14-year-old Keerthi in Vidyaranpura, Bengaluru. He was with the air force from 1987 to 2007. He worked at several airports from 1987 to 1997.
Despite being married, he would scan matrimonial sites and befriended a woman from Rajajinagar. Unaware of the fact that Yadav was married, the woman continued to be in a relationship with him. Seeing his wife and children as obstacles, so early on October 19, 2008, Yadav allegedly killed his wife and two children by hitting them with a log.
He initially tried misleading police by saying it was a burglary-cum-murder, but a detailed investigation led to his arrest.
After two years in Parappana Agrahara jail in Bengaluru, Yadav complained of bladder issues and was moved to Victoria Hospital for treatment. But he already had an escape plan ready as he had stolen some chilli powder from the prison canteen.
On December 4, 2010, he sprayed chilli powder into the eyes of police personnel escorting him at the hospital and escaped with his handcuffs on. Police were unable to find him and Yadav went off the radar.
After DCP (south) Harish Pandey formed a special team to track down criminals who escaped from police custody, especially those who committed heinous crimes, police found out know that Yadav was running a liquor shop in Ateli Mandi in Haryana. The liquor shop was registered under another person’s name.
After inquiring around, police found out that Yadav had relocated to Assam. While in Haryana, he continued to check matrimonial sites and met a woman online who belonged to Assam. He moved there, married her and was living with her in Nellie. He has two sons from this marriage.
“Assam police helped us a great deal in identifying and arresting him. We traced him to Rewari in Haryana with the address we had in our records. His family had disowned him after he murdered his wife and kids. A little bit of digging led us to the culprit,” said Pandey.