After evading the law for nearly 36 years, Pradeep Saxena, a resident of Shahi in Bareilly, was finally arrested. He was produced before the court and subsequently sent to jail. Saxena had been convicted of murdering his own brother in 1987 and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Giving details, police officials in Bareilly disclosed on Saturday that Pradeep was taken into custody following strict directions from the High Court. After his arrest on Thursday, he was presented before the Judicial Magistrate on Friday, who ordered that he be remanded to jail.
Pradeep had killed his brother, Sanjeev Saxena, in 1987. Two years later, in 1989, he was released on parole by the High Court, but instead of returning to custody after the parole period ended, he absconded. His family also left Shahi town, making it difficult for authorities to track him down.
During his years on the run, Pradeep changed his identity several times. He worked briefly in Moradabad’s Transport Nagar and later became a truck driver. He married a widowed Muslim woman in Moradabad, converted to Islam, and took the name Abdul Rahim. The couple settled near the Turkish Inter College in Islamnagar, Moradabad. To avoid detection, he grew a beard and severed all ties with relatives in Bareilly.
Meanwhile, court summons and notices continued to be sent to his Shahi address. On October 16, the High Court ordered the police to arrest the absconding convict within four weeks and produce him before the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bareilly. Following the directive, the police intensified their search.
Investigations led officers to Pradeep’s brother, Suresh Babu, who revealed that Pradeep had converted to Islam and was living in Moradabad’s Karula area, working as a driver. When police reached the locality, residents said no such person lived there—but mentioned an elderly man named Abdul Rahim, also known as “Saxena Driver,” who had been driving vehicles in Transport Nagar for about 30 years.
Further inquiry in Transport Nagar revealed that Abdul Rahim, alias Saxena Driver, had recently gone to Bareilly. Acting on this information, the police located and arrested Pradeep Saxena from Delapeer Mandi on Thursday. Now over 70 years old, he has been sent back behind bars after more than three decades.
SP City Manush Parikh confirmed the arrest, stating that Saxena, convicted in the murder of his brother, had been living in Moradabad under a changed identity to evade the law. He married a Muslim widow there and lived as Abdul Rahim. The police have now produced him in court, and he has been sent to jail.