The police on Monday arrested a 70-year-old proclaimed offender wanted in a brutal 2020 robbery and assault case in which a Delhi-based event manager’s thumbs were allegedly chopped off over a financial dispute.
The accused, identified as Brahamdev Bhagat, a resident of Purnia in Bihar, was arrested by the Crime Branch’s NDR unit on May 17 in connection with a case registered at the Dwarka Sector 23 police station under sections related to wrongful confinement, robbery, criminal intimidation and the use of deadly weapons.
Police said Bhagat had been absconding since the incident in March 2020 and was declared a proclaimed offender by a Delhi court on December 11, 2025.
According to police, the incident took place on March 17, 2020, when event manager Surinder Nanda received a call regarding a booking for a large party. As he had a medical appointment in Patel Nagar, he asked his manager, Kapil Chadha, to attend the meeting in Dwarka on his behalf.
Police said the callers insisted on meeting Nanda personally, following which he travelled to Dwarka with his driver, Ramesh, in an SUV. Near a CNG pump in Sector 23, a car allegedly guided him to the meeting location.
Upon reaching the premises, Nanda allegedly found Bhagat, who had earlier supplied vegetables to him, along with three associates. Police said the accused assaulted him with sticks and robbed him of a diamond ring and Rs 27,000 at knifepoint.
According to the FIR, the accused also forced Nanda to sign documents acknowledging payment of Rs 11 lakh towards alleged vegetable dues. Police alleged that Bhagat then chopped off both the victim’s thumbs with a knife before the accused fled the spot.
Nanda later reached DDU Hospital, following which police registered the case on March 18, 2020.
During the investigation, three co-accused — identified as Jitender, Amardeep and Gautam — were arrested by local police, while Bhagat remained absconding for more than six years.
Delhi Police said the Crime Branch team used technical surveillance and local intelligence to trace the accused. Acting on a tip-off received on May 15, the team reached Purnia in Bihar and apprehended Bhagat after laying a trap.
During interrogation, Bhagat allegedly confessed to his involvement in the crime and told police he had been changing locations to evade arrest.
The police said Bhagat studied up to Class 5 and earlier worked as a vegetable vendor before becoming a wholesale vegetable trader at Azadpur Subzi Mandi in 2015. He was reportedly running a grocery shop in Purnia at the time of his arrest.
