22 yrs on, couple from Bihar held for killing minor to settle scores

New Delhi: Twenty-two years after a 14-year-old girl was murdered at her home in Nangloi, Outer Delhi, police arrested a couple from Bihar on Feb 11. The prime accused, a close friend of the girl's father, allegedly committed the crime with his wife to settle a long-standing monetary dispute. The suspects have been identified as Sikander, 60, and his wife Manju, 55. Police traced them to Bihar and camped there for 15 days before nabbing them.
According to investigators, on April 22, 2004, the teenager was alone at her home in Shiv Ram Park, as her parents had travelled to Bihar and her brother was in Noida attending a friend's wedding. Around 4.30am the next day, the brother returned and found the main door locked. Worried, he entered the house from the rear. Inside, he found his sister lying dead on her bed with her throat slit. He alerted police, who reached the spot and registered a murder case. Inquiry revealed that a couple known to the family had been missing since the incident. In 2006, they were declared proclaimed offenders. Despite multiple raids across several states over the years, they remained untraceable.DCP (Crime) Vikram Singh set up a team led by inspector Pukhraj to track down the accused. The team traced the couple to Bihar's Banka district, stayed there for 15 days, and on Feb 11 carried out a raid. "During interrogation, Sikander disclosed that he was a close friend of the girl's father, who was also a contractor, and worked as a labourer with him on waterproofing projects. He claimed the contractor had not paid him his wages for years and had even promised to buy him a plot, but did not do so," police said. Owing to this financial dispute, Sikander and his wife allegedly plotted to kill his friend's daughter in retaliation.