One of three former followers of the doomsday cult that perpetrated the sarin gas attacks in Tokyo's subway trains and stations in 1995 has surrendered to police after 17 years on the run to escape prosecution for the kidnapping and murder of another member's brother.

Makoto Hirata, 46, turned himself in minutes before midnight on New Year's Eve, telling officers of a Tokyo police station that he wanted to clear his name and forget the past.

Hirata was wanted for the February 1995 death of notary official Kiyoshi Kariya, 68, the brother of a follower of Aum Shinrikyo, now known as Aleph. Hirata, along with still at-large Naoko Kikuchi, 40, and Katsuya Takahashi, 53, seized Kariya in Tokyo and brought him to the Aum Shinrikyo's heavily guarded commune at the foot of Mount Fuji.

The victim was drugged in an attempt by Aum Shinrikyo members to get information about his sister, a cult member who escaped after the group pressed her to donate her land. Kariya died from drug overdose on the second day of his captivity. His body was burned in an incinerator and the ashes were thrown in a nearby lake to hide the crime.

Hirata told police that he only drove Kariya to the cult's compound.

Hirata also had been accused of shooting a police chief but the case was closed last year.

Kariya's family is seeking more information about his death. His son, Minoru, told reporters he is hoping that Hirata would shed light on the death of his father.

Takahashi acted as one of the drivers of cult members who brought and released sarin nerve gas in plastic bags in Tokyo's subway system in 1995. The attack killed 13 people and injured more than 6,000. Aum's leader, Shoko Asahara, and 12 other members were sentenced to death for plotting the attack aimed at bringing down the Japanese government.