Bareilly/Moradabad, November 29, 2025: A man in Uttar Pradesh was arrested decades after allegedly killing his brother and evading the law for 36 years by changing his identity, appearance, and even religion.

The accused, Pradeep Kumar Saxena, had stabbed his brother, Sanjeev Saxena, a UPSRTC employee, to death in 1987. He was charged under theft and murder sections but was granted bail in 1989. After his release, Saxena vanished, making it nearly impossible for authorities to trace him.

The case resurfaced recently when the Allahabad High Court directed Bareilly Police to apprehend Saxena within four weeks. Following this, a special police team was constituted under SSP Anurag Arya. Investigators initially questioned Saxena’s family but received little information. A breakthrough came from his brother Suresh, who indicated that Pradeep might be living in Moradabad under a different identity.

Further investigation revealed that Saxena had converted to Islam in 2002, adopting the name Abdul Rahim to hide his true identity. He had grown a beard, dressed in kurta-pyjama, and married a widow named Salma, who passed away in 2023. Despite his new identity, locals in Moradabad still referred to him as the “Saxena driver.”

Pradeep, aka Abdul Rahim, was arrested and produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bareilly, on November 28, 2025. During questioning, he confessed to the murder and to evading arrest for decades. He has now been sent to jail.