Ex-army captain convicted of wife’s murder held:Arrested from Pandhurna living undercover, working at Raymond unit after fleeing life term

A dismissed army captain, convicted of murdering his wife in Punjab, has been arrested from Pandhurna after remaining absconding for nearly four years. The accused, Sandeep Tomar, had been sentenced to life imprisonment but fled after the court verdict. According to police, he had been living under a false identity and working as an in-charge at a unit of Raymond Limited while staying in a rented house. Arrest after technical surveillance Police officials said Tomar had been constantly changing locations to evade arrest. Based on technical inputs, Punjab Police traced his location and, with assistance from Madhya Pradesh Police, surrounded and arrested him on Friday night. He was later taken to Abohar and presented before a judge at his residence on Sunday, following which he was sent to jail. Changed appearance to avoid detection According to Lodhokhada police station in-charge A.B. Marskole, the accused had rented a house in Vijay Gram Colony in Borgaon, Pandhurna. He had altered his appearance and completely concealed his identity to avoid recognition. Murder within five months of marriage Sandeep Tomar, a native of Kanpur, married Shweta Singh from Lucknow in February 2013 while he was posted as a captain in the Army at Abohar Cantonment. Just five months later, in July 2013, Shweta Singh was found dead at their government residence. Initially passed off as suicide, later found to be murder Tomar initially claimed it was a suicide. However, based on the statement of the victim’s father, Ram Naresh, police registered a case of dowry harassment and abetment to suicide. During investigation, it was revealed that Shweta had not died by hanging but was strangled. Tomar was subsequently arrested and dismissed from Army service. Life sentence by High Court, then absconding After spending about five years in jail, Tomar was released on bail. The victim’s family later approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court. On September 23, 2022, the High Court convicted him and sentenced him to life imprisonment. Following the verdict, he went absconding. Raymond’s presence across India Raymond Limited is one of India’s leading textile and garment companies, headquartered in Thane, Maharashtra. It operates manufacturing and garment units across several states, including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Madhya Pradesh. One of its key garment units is located in Pandhurna, where the accused had been working while in hiding.