New Delhi, May 14 (PTI) The Delhi Police has arrested a 57-year-old man who had allegedly killed a woman here 17 years ago, kept her body locked in a trunk and fled, officials said on Tuesday.

The man was arrested from the city's Rohini area.

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Police said accused Virender Singh, a resident of Bihar's Vaishali district, killed the 22-year-old woman in his rented apartment here in 2007 and kept the body locked in a trunk. The body was found the next day.

"After killing her, the accused fled the city. However, during investigation, co-accused Shankar Ghosh was arrested by the local police," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Amit Goel said, adding that the accused was declared a proclaimed offender by a court in 2008.

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The officer further said an assistant sub-inspector of the crime branch was posted at the Kalkaji police station. He was the beat officer of the area where the women was killed.

"He continued to probe the case despite being transferred. He again started gathering information about the accused through people who were directly or indirectly involved in the flesh trade. He got to know that Singh is hiding in Haryana's Panipat. Raids were conducted but the accused could not be traced as he was changing his rented accommodation frequently," the DCP said.

In February, ASI Ramesh was transferred to the crime branch and he started investigating the case again.

"This time he was able to find the mobile number of the accused and he was identified from the database of tenants. He was apprehended from the Vijay Vihar area in Rohini," the DCP said.

During interrogation, it was revealed that the accused came to Delhi in 1991 and started living in the Chittaranjan Park area. He was working as a taxi driver.

During that period, he came in contact with different people and also got to know about the flesh trade.

In 2001, he joined the flesh trade for earning easy money, the DCP said, adding that he used to bring young girls from West Bengal and use them in the flesh trade.

"The victim was purchased by him for Rs 10,000," the officer said.

On June 4, 2007, as the victim refused to go to work due to illness, the accused allegedly killed her, kept the body locked in a trunk, hid the trunk in his rented accommodation and fled to West Bengal, the DCP said, adding that he stayed in a woman's house in Siliguri.

The body was found the next day.

"In 2009, he came to Ambala and joined his friend Labhoo in the flesh trade. In 2013, he shifted to Panipat and continue to carry out the same business. He came back to Delhi in 2019 and started living in Vijay Vihar," the DCP said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)