Delhi Police Crime Branch arrested life convict Sadhana alias Pooja in Haridwar on September 27, 2026. She had been absconding for more than 20 years after she failed to return from parole in January 2006. Police said she had changed her identity and was living under an assumed name.Key HighlightsSadhana alias Pooja was arrested in Haridwar on September 27.She had been missing from police custody for over 20 years.She failed to return from parole on January 18, 2006.Police said she changed her name and lived under a new identity.Who Is Sadhana?Sadhana was serving a life sentence in a case linked to the kidnapping and murder of a 10-year-old child in Delhi. The case was registered at Adarsh Nagar Police Station in 1990.She was convicted under Sections 364, 302 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code. Her conviction was also upheld by an appellate court."According to the report, Sadhana had been in Central Jail since January 9, 1990. She was later released on parole on December 27, 2005."Her parole was extended by three weeks on medical grounds. But she did not return to jail on January 18, 2006. She remained absconding from that date.How Was She Arrested?The Crime Branch’s Inter-State Cell worked for years to trace Sadhana. Police used information from old contacts, family links and human intelligence.Police later received information that she was living in Haridwar under an assumed identity. The team checked the information and kept watch in the area.After confirming her identity, the Crime Branch team arrested her on September 27, 2026.She Changed Her Name to PoojaPolice said Sadhana changed her name to Pooja after jumping parole. She first stayed with co-accused Raj Kumar.She later worked at a private company in Noida. There, she met a carpenter named Keshav. She later moved to Mukundpur in Delhi and then to Haridwar.Police said she later married Keshav in a temple and used his name in documents to hide her identity.The arrest brings an end to her more than two-decade period of absconding. The Crime Branch is continuing further legal proceedings in the case.Also Read : Delhi Crime Branch Nabs Man in Rs 1 Crore Extortion Plot
