A criminal who had evaded arrest for over a decade fell for a honey trap laid by the Delhi Police in which a male constable posed as a woman on a social media platform, officials said on Thursday.

The constable created a fake Instagram handle to lure 45-year-old Bunty, accused in 20 cases of snatching theft, possession of illegal arms and bootlegging at different police stations in Delhi, they said.

"The accused was declared a proclaimed offender by a city court in June 26, 2013, in a case registered against him in Tilak Nagar Police Station," Deputy Commissioner of Police (north) Manoj Kumar Meena said.

Even after several attempts by the team, Bunty remained at large, the DCP said, terming him a hardcore criminal.

The team received a tip-off this year that Bunty was hiding in Indira Vikas Colony, he said.

When the team visited the location, they found that Bunty was using an Instagram account, the DCP said.

"Later, the team laid many traps and efforts were made to trace the accused, but the offender remained at large. Subsequently, the team member, head-constable Omparkash Dagar, came up with an innovative idea," said the DCP.

The constable created a fake Instagram handle with a woman's name, Mr Meena said.

"Dagar started chatting with Bunty and he was eager to befriend the 'fake woman'," said the DCP.

Later, Bunty agreed to meet the 'woman' at Punjabi Bagh Metro Station.

"On June 7, the meeting was fixed. The team was ready and laid a strategic trap with the help of technical surveillance. As the accused reached the spot, he was successfully apprehended from Punjabi Bagh Metro Station," the police officer said.

The DCP said Bunty kept changing his address and phone numbers regularly to evade arrest.