27 years on, cops solve murder case only to find accused dead

Thane police in Maharashtra have cracked a 27-year-old case of killing of a sub-inspector, only to find that the accused died seven years ago, an official said on Thursday.

On July 23, 1992, sub-inspector Mahendra Singh Patil, then attached to Mahatma Fule Chowk police station in Kalyan town, was stabbed to death by the accused, Iqbal alias Nanhe Khan, during a confrontation, crime branch's senior inspector Nitin Thakre said.

After the killing, the accused, who was also wanted in connection with several robberies in the area, absconded and eluded the police for nearly three decades, he said.

During a recent review of the unsolved cases, the crime branch of Thane police got information that Khan's whereabouts were last traced to Jasola village in Okhla area of Delhi.

Last week, a Thane police team went to Okhla to nab Khan, but got to know that he died of an ailment seven years ago, Thakre added.