# Delhi Police arrest suspect in Haryana cop murder after 28 years 2026-08-06T11:06:29+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Delhi Police's Crime Branch has arrested Rajinder Bairagi, who also went by Rajinder Singh Yadav and Dr Jhatka, ending a 28-year search after the 53-year-old fled custody in 1999, NDTV reported. Police said Bairagi told interrogators that on May 10, 1998, he and five armed associates opened fire during a dispute with the bride's family at a wedding in Sonipat, killing Haryana police officer Jai Bhagwan, the bride's uncle, and critically wounding another guest. He was arrested but escaped while being escorted in handcuffs from Ghaziabad Jail to a Sonipat court in February 1999. He then briefly taught at a school in Colaba, Maharashtra, before settling in Mungaoli, Madhya Pradesh, where he married Mamta Yadav in 2003 and obtained an Aadhaar card, PAN card and driving licence under his assumed name. Investigators traced him through digital footprint analysis before a Northern Range-1 team raided Mungaoli, he was produced before magistrates in Mungaoli and then Dwarka. Eight criminal cases are registered against him across Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. ## Indian Opinion Analysis An arrest closing a 28 year search still leaves the case untested: the account of the 1998 killing rests on what police say Bairagi told interrogators, and none of the eight cases registered against him has been tried. Police said he obtained an Aadhaar card, voter identity card, PAN card, driving licence and domicile certificate under the assumed name. Police produced Bairagi before the Judicial Magistrate Court in Mungaoli and, after transit remand, the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Dwarka, where the murder and escape cases go next. ## Coverage - ndtv.com - ndtv.com Tags: Delhi Police, Haryana Police Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/delhi-police-arrests-accused-in-haryana-cops-killing-after-28-years/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/delhi-police-arrests-accused-in-haryana-cops-killing-after-28-years/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.