Fazilka: A former Army captain, convicted and sentenced to life for murdering his wife in 2012, was finally arrested after being on the run for nearly four years.
Sandeep Tomar had not only changed his identity and altered his appearance, he had also secured a well-paying job with a reputed firm. However, it was his PAN, linked to a bank’s salary account that helped authorities track him down.
His exact location was confirmed through an LPG agency, which Tomar paid online for refills.
Tomar, a resident of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, was an officer with the 12 Bihar regiment. He was posted at the Abohar cantonment.
In 2013, he strangled his wife of five months, Shveta Singh, to death and tried to pass it off as a suicide. Subsequent police investigation, however, proved that he had murdered her.
A local court held him guilty of murder and awarded life imprisonment in 2014, following which he was dismissed from the Army and lodged in Ferozepur jail.
While hearing an appeal by him, the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted him bail in 2019. In 2022, the Court dismissed his appeal and upheld the sentence of the trial court. Tomar did not surrender though.
In 2024, his father-in-law Ram Naresh moved the High Court demanding his arrest. The Court ordered the Punjab DGP to file an affidavit by April 8, 2026 explaining the steps taken to take Tomar into custody.
On instructions from the DGP, the Fazilka SSP constituted a special investigation team (SIT). It was headed by Aaswant Singh, SP, Punjab Bureau of Investigation, Fazilka.
“During investigation, the SIT sought help from the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) and found the PAN issued to Tomar,” an official associated with the investigation has been quoted by The Indian Express as saying.
All public and private banks were issued notices to obtain account numbers linked with that PAN. A private bank reported an account linked with that PAN, the official said.
An analysis of the transaction statement revealed that salary was being credited to the account every month from a reputed firm. The call data record analysis of the mobile number attached with that bank account revealed that he was living in Pandhurna, Madhya Pradesh. However, his exact location could not be pinpointed through tower location.
“His bank statement also revealed that he was getting LPG cylinder refills from an agency of Bharat Gas. The gas agency was contacted and the delivery address was obtained. This information was shared with Superintendent of Police, Pandhurna, and the convict was immediately arrested by the local police,” the official added.
A Fazilka police team took Tomar’s custody and brought him back to Punjab.
Investigation revealed that after being released from jail on bail, Tomar worked in Zirakpur for a while as a real estate agent. After a while he moved to Odisha.
After learning that his appeal against his sentence had been dismissed by the High Court, he moved to Bengaluru and started working there before moving to same firm’s unit in Madhya Pradesh. He was living there with his second wife whom he had married while being on the run from the law.
