Fazilka/Raipur, Mar 31: In a breakthrough driven by digital tracking, police have arrested Sandeep Tomar, a former Army Captain who had been absconding for four years after being convicted in his wife’s murder case, officials said on Tuesday.
Tomar was apprehended from Pandhurna district in Madhya Pradesh and later produced before a court in Fazilka, Punjab, which remanded him to judicial custody.
The case dates back to 2013, when Tomar, then posted in Abohar, allegedly killed his wife Shveta Singh. While he initially attempted to pass off the incident as a suicide, a detailed investigation later established it as a premeditated murder.
A trial court in 2014 convicted him and sentenced him to life imprisonment, a verdict that was upheld by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2022. Although granted bail in 2019, Tomar failed to surrender after the High Court upheld his conviction and had since been evading arrest by frequently changing his identity and location.
Police said the breakthrough came when investigators traced a bank account linked to Tomar’s PAN card, which he had used to book an LPG cylinder. “A bank account linked to his PAN card used for LPG booking led to his location,” an official said.
Further analysis of his bank records revealed repeated LPG refills from a gas agency in Pandhurna. “The gas agency was contacted and delivery details helped trace him,” the official added.
Acting on this information, the Fazilka police constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and coordinated with local authorities in Madhya Pradesh. The accused was subsequently tracked down and arrested with the help of Pandhurna police.
Officials said Tomar had been “continuously changing his location and identity to evade arrest,” making the operation particularly challenging.
The arrest also followed sustained legal pressure, with the victim’s father, Ram Naresh, moving the court in 2024 seeking action. The High Court had directed the Punjab Director General of Police to submit an affidavit detailing steps taken to apprehend the convict.
Police described the arrest as a result of effective inter-state coordination and the growing role of financial and digital footprints in tracking absconding offenders.
“The incident was initially described as suicide, but investigation revealed it was a planned murder,” an official said, adding that the case highlights how technology can play a crucial role in ensuring justice.
