Fugitive Ex-Army Captain's Digital Trail Leads to Arrest After Gas Cylinder Payment
Sandeep Tomar, a former Army Captain dismissed from service after being convicted for the murder of his wife, has been apprehended following a four-year period as a fugitive. His capture was facilitated by a critical error: using his original Permanent Account Number (PAN) for financial transactions, which ultimately exposed his secret location in Madhya Pradesh. The Punjab Police, in collaboration with the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), traced Tomar after a digital alert flagged his activity when he paid for a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder refill.
Years on the Run Under a False Identity
Tomar was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2013 for strangling his wife, Shweta Singh, just five months into their marriage at the Abohar cantonment. Initially claiming the death was a suicide, forensic evidence later proved it was a homicide. After the Punjab and Haryana High Court upheld his life sentence in September 2022, Tomar went underground, adopting a fake name to evade a nationwide manhunt.
During his time as a fugitive, he moved across multiple states to avoid detection. He worked as a real-estate agent in Zirakpur, traveled through southern and eastern hubs such as Bengaluru and Odisha, and eventually settled in Pandhurna, Madhya Pradesh. There, he secured employment as a manager at a juice factory and reportedly remarried under his assumed identity, attempting to live a low-profile life.
The Digital Footprint That Led to His Downfall
Despite his efforts to remain undetected, Tomar made two significant administrative mistakes that proved fatal to his freedom. A special investigation team (SIT) worked with NATGRID to monitor financial records associated with his original identification documents. The breakthrough occurred when Tomar used his PAN card to open a salary bank account at his new workplace in Madhya Pradesh.
This action triggered an automatic alert within the national intelligence database, prompting investigators to closely monitor the account. They observed regular monthly salary deposits from a company based in Madhya Pradesh, providing initial clues to his whereabouts. The definitive confirmation of his exact location came when Tomar utilized the flagged bank account to make a payment for an LPG cylinder refill, linking him directly to Pandhurna.
Arrest and Extradition Process
Using records from the gas agency and mobile tower data associated with the bank account, Fazilka police accurately pinpointed Tomar's residence in Pandhurna. Local authorities in Madhya Pradesh executed the arrest on a Saturday, following which Tomar was returned to Punjab on transit remand. He was remanded in judicial custody at Abohar on March 28, marking a full circle back to the location where he committed the crime in 2013.
This case highlights the increasing role of digital surveillance in law enforcement, with NATGRID's capabilities playing a pivotal role in tracking financial activities to apprehend fugitives. Tomar's story serves as a stark reminder that even those attempting to live off the grid can be undone by seemingly minor digital footprints.
