Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Oct 11: In a major crackdown on old criminal cases, Mangaluru city police commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy, and Dakshina Kannada superintendent of police (SP) Dr Arun K have launched a coordinated operation to track down long-absconding accused involved in murder, attempt-to-murder, robbery, and extortion cases. Over the past three months, police have arrested more than 110 accused who had failed to appear before courts after being released on bail.
Many of these accused, after obtaining bail, had fled abroad or gone into hiding, ignoring repeated court summons and arrest warrants. Some were even found to be involved in new criminal activities, indirectly encouraging others to commit crimes.
Police commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy and SP Dr Arun K
In a related breakthrough, city police busted a network that was fabricating fake Aadhaar and RTC documents to secure bail for accused persons in criminal cases. Twelve individuals have been arrested in connection with the racket. The accused were reportedly charging between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lac for each fake bail arrangement. Police believe more people are involved, and investigations are ongoing. The crackdown has now made it difficult for habitual offenders to obtain bail.
Acting on the directive of the police commissioner, station inspectors were tasked with collecting information on accused who had gone absconding in old cases. As a result, police have arrested over 75 such individuals in the past three months. The operation has reportedly sent shockwaves among absconding criminals across the district.
Some accused had been evading court appearances for several years, residing abroad or in other states. A few were even indirectly aiding ongoing criminal activities in the district. Police commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy said the ongoing drive to trace and arrest long-absconding accused in old cases has served as a strong warning to other offenders.
Among the major arrests are Vishal Kumar, who had fled to Dubai and was arrested at Mangaluru airport on September 4; Devaraj, absconding for 19 years, nabbed by Vittal police; Ravindra, missing for seven years, apprehended; Leeladhar and Chandrahas Keshav Shetty, accused in a 26-year-old communal riot case, arrested; Imran Khan, on the run for 12 years, caught; rowdy-sheeter Nazeem alias Najju, arrested; Chandran, who had been absconding for 55 years, arrested by Puttur police; Abdul Hanif, who ignored nine warrants, taken into custody; Thammayya, absconding for 10 years, nabbed by Dharmasthala police; Srinivas Shetty, an associate of underworld don Kali Yogish, arrested; Altaf, missing for 12 years, apprehended; and Shivaprasad, accused in the Vinayak Baliga murder case, arrested.