Delhi Crime Branch Arrests 1995 Kidnapping Life Convict After 26 Years

The Delhi Police Crime Branch has arrested a 57-year-old life convict from Dehradun, Uttarakhand, more than 26 years after he jumped interim bail in a 1995 kidnapping and ₹1 crore ransom case registered at central Delhi’s Patel Nagar police station.

The convict, identified as Amit Yadav, was apprehended on August 13. According to Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) HGS Dhaliwal, Yadav had been living under an assumed identity in Dehradun since 2001 after changing his personal identification details.

The case dates back to September 12, 1995, when Rishi Sethi was abducted from his car by three to four individuals. The kidnappers assaulted, blindfolded, and confined Sethi before demanding a ransom of ₹1 crore from his family for his safe release. On their instructions, ₹10 lakh was delivered to a hotel room in Meerut. On September 16, 1995, police arrested Yadav after he collected the ransom money. He subsequently led officers to his rented house in Raj Nagar, Ghaziabad, where Sethi was found chained inside a storeroom and rescued.

On August 25, 1999, a city court convicted Yadav and sentenced him to life imprisonment alongside a fine of ₹2.5 lakh. Yadav appealed the verdict before the Delhi High Court and secured a one-month interim bail on January 15, 2000. However, he failed to surrender and absconded. The High Court dismissed his appeal on December 14, 2000, upholding his conviction and sentence. He was subsequently declared a proclaimed offender with a ₹5,000 reward on his arrest.

Police said Yadav vacated his Ghaziabad residence, sold his ancestral property in Baghpat, and spent nearly a year shifting hideouts in Rishikesh before settling in Dehradun. Investigators finally tracked him down by matching biometric details recorded during his 1999 conviction alongside technical surveillance and field intelligence. Yadav has been sent back to Tihar jail.