Maharashtra: Murder accused on the run for 16 years held in Uttar Pradesh

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A man, who was wanted in a murder case in Maharashtra, has been arrested from Uttar Pradesh nearly 16 years after the crime, the police said on Wednesday, reported the PTI.

The accused was identified as Vinodkumar Bhudiram Singh alias Zhuri. He was arrested from Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesh on Monday, by the Central Crime Unit of the Mira-Bhayandar-Vasai-Virar (MBVV) police commissionerate.

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Confirming the development, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Madan Ballal said on Wednesday that the murder had taken place on January 19, 2009, when the 26-year-old Pravin Prabhakar Dhule was attacked by a group in a village in Nalasopara, as per the PTI.

Two of the accused - Sikandar Imran Sheikh and Anil Durvi Singh - fired at Dhule at point-blank range that led to his death.

A case was registered under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections, including 302 (murder), 144 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting) and and 120B (criminal conspiracy), as well as under the Arms Act and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against him, the police official said.

"Following the incident, the police had arrested 12 persons by 2011, and a chargesheet was filed. But Vinodkumar managed to remain elusive since the day of the murder," he said, as per the PTI.

Recently, the police received information that he was hiding in Uttar Pradesh. Taking immediate steps, the crime branch team apprehended Singh at his residence a few days ago, senior police inspector Rahul Rakha of the Central Crime Branch said.

"Following his arrest, the police secured a transit remand from a local court for Vinodkumar's transfer to Nalasopara for further investigation," he said.

In a similar case, the Pydhonie Police in Mumbai has successfully 're-arrested' an accused who had been allegedly absconding for the past 21 years after a criminal case was registered against him in 2002, the police said.

The accused identified as Mastan Evahim Sheikh, was apprehended in a late-night operation after allegedly evading the cops action against him for over two decades, said an official.

The police said that the case dates back to 2002 under sections 380, 457, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

"The accused was allegedly involved in a house-breaking theft case, which was being heard regularly in the Court of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, 22 Court, Mazgaon (Sewri), Mumbai. However, Sheikh had repeatedly failed to appear in court hearings, leading the court to declare him a fugitive after which he was traced by a team of officials and placed under arrest," an official said.

(with PTI inputs)