LPG booking leads police to ex-Army captain in wife's murder after 4-year hunt

Chandigarh,UPDATED: Mar 31, 2026 17:24 IST

Punjab Police arrested former Indian Army captain Sandeep Tomar in Madhya Pradesh, ending a four-year hunt. He had been absconding in connection with his wife’s murder. An LPG cylinder booking ultimately led to his arrest.

Tomar had been on the run since the Punjab and Haryana High Court upheld his life sentence for the crime. The police traced him to Pandhurna district after tracking payments linked to an LPG cylinder booked in his name.

The probe began after Tomar’s father-in-law filed a court application seeking his arrest. A special investigation team (SIT), led by Superintendent of Police Aaswant Singh, was formed to track down the absconding officer.

The SIT collaborated with the National Intelligence Grid (NAT-GRID) and discovered Tomar’s original PAN card. This was used to identify bank accounts associated with him. One private bank reported an account linked to Tomar’s PAN.

Analysis of the bank statements revealed a monthly salary credited by a private company and a mobile number connected to the account, placing Tomar in Pandhurna. However, the exact location remained unclear.

Further scrutiny of the bank statements showed a transaction for an LPG cylinder from Bharat Gas. Contacting the gas agency helped police pinpoint the rented house where the cylinder was delivered, leading to Tomar’s arrest.

He was brought back to Punjab with assistance from Madhya Pradesh police. He had reportedly stayed in various parts of the country while evading capture.

Tomar, who served with 12 Bihar and was posted at Abohar Cantonment, was convicted in 2014 for strangling his wife Shweta and attempting to pass it off as a suicide. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, dismissed from the Army, and jailed in Ferozepur. After bail in 2019, he absconded following the High Court’s 2022 decision to uphold his sentence.

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