Why this Army soldier, 'dead' for 16 years, returned to a shocking court appearance

medium nocaption120518151“I never died,” Surinder Singh, an ex-Army soldier from Himachal’s Kangra district announced, stunning officials and family alike when he recently walked into a courtroom in Punjab’s Pathankot after vanishing 16 years ago. Singh had allegedly fled back then due to harassment following dowry-related charges filed by his wife, Meena Kumari, a resident of a village in Pathankot. With Singh declared “dead” in Army records, she began receiving his family pension as a widow. The Army’s 32-Medium Regiment and its intelligence wing have now launched a probe to determine the circumstances of his disappearance — and whether it was a genuine case of desertion or part of a broader conspiracy.A few months ago, Singh surrendered before the court seeking to reclaim his identity. “I left because I was depressed. My wife had slapped a case of dowry harassment against me and my parents. She used to insult me at my place of posting and treated me so badly that I decided to renounce the world,” Singh told TOI. “For years, I stayed at railway stations and in slums in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Whenever I thought of coming back to my army unit or my house, the fear of harassment stopped me,” he said. Singh’s parents, who were co-accused in the case, were acquitted by a trial court on Jan 10, 2014. medium nocaption120516619The Pathankot chief judicial magistrate has fixed the next hearing on April 23, asking Singh’s wife to appear and lead pre-charge evidence. The court has ordered regular hearings, considering the case has been pending since 2008. Singh had served in the Army for nearly 12 years and was last posted in Gujarat. He said the case ruined his career and personal life. He last saw his only son — now in Class XI — when the child was just a year old. "He will not even recognise me now."In another twist, Singh told the court that he met with an accident in 2009, lost his memory, and regained it recently. The judge in his order recorded it to be a case of “dead man walking to the court to surrender.” Singh is currently out on bail and residing with his brother in Kangra. It is his brother, who Singh contact via Facebook, who convinced him to return.Trader held for 1992 theft, days before daughter’s weddingLife was smooth sailing for 53-year-old handicraft wholesale trader Mahesh Sindhi – till the long arm of the law caught him last week, days before his daughter’s wedding, for a crime he committed 33 years ago.Sindhi, then residing in Khanpur in the old city area of Ahmedabad, was accused of stealing a two-wheeler in the city in 1992. Before the police could nab him, he vanished from their radar – he got married, started a handicraft business, and settled in Maharashtra’s Ulhasnagar.The theft case remained on the backburner for years amid more pressing tasks for the Karanj police, until last year when they began re-investigating several cold cases.They tracked Sindhi using technical surveillance and subsequently arrested him. medium nocaption120516634“The complainant, co-accused, and even key witnesses have all died. The stolen vehicle was recovered during a Lok Adalat years ago. There’s hardly anything left in the case except the man himself,” inspector PT Chaudhary said. Sindhi was reportedly devastated by the arrest and pleaded with police officers to delay the action until after his daughter’s wedding, scheduled for next week.“He thought his lawyer had settled the case years ago. He claimed he didn’t run; he simply moved on. But the law doesn’t forget. He was unaware of any such consequences until he was caught on Wednesday,” said Chaudhary.Man on the run for 17 years arrested, was living as a transgenderAfter spending 17 years on the run, a man accused in a burglary case was arrested in Jaipur’s Malviya Nagar area this month. To avoid arrest, the man not only changed his name but had started living as a transgender, according to the police.Chetan Singhwal, 37, had been absconding since 2008, when he was first arrested for a theft in Malviya Nagar area. After being released on bail, he disappeared and has managed to evade arrest ever since. Police said he frequently shifted locations and eventually changed his name to Chetna as part of a plan to integrate into the transgender commu-nity and escape police attention.Police officials said as Singhwal started making money as a transgender, he even planned to undergo a gender reassignment surgery. medium nocaption120516683According to DCP (East) Tejaswani Gautam, Singhwal managed to stay hidden for years by altering his appearance and keeping a low profile. A police officer said Singhwal committed the first theft in February 2008, breaking into a house and stealing gold, silver jewellery and cash. After his arrest and a brief stint in jail, he was granted bail but never returned for court proceedings.“Singhwal fled Jaipur and kept moving between cities to evade the police. Around four years ago, he returned and began living again in Jaipur under his new identity as a transgender,” said a police official.Inputs: Ajay Sura, Ashish Chauhan | Illustrations: Gaurav Kumra/AI