Mumbai: Wanted criminals run straight into police net after years

Dastigar Shaikh, Harish Rawat, Vivekarvind Dixit, Flynn Remedios, Narayan Gavand, Parakattu Vasu Krishna Nair, Nisar Murad, Sunny Singh and Chandrakant Khamkar

In a major crackdown on criminals on the run, the Colaba police this year have arrested nine criminals, absconding for six years to two decades. These criminals were wanted in cases of kidnapping, cheating and forgery.

They had appointed a team of four police officers who worked round-the-clock and managed to arrest them with just a couple of leads in hand.

"We've apprehended nine accused involved in various criminal activities, including kidnapping, forgery, and cheating. Our team tracked them through a combination of human intelligence and technical investigation.

Once we obtained a breakthrough, we pursued and apprehended them swiftly," said a police officer involved in the recent arrest of one of the wanted criminals.

According to the police, many of these accused were arrested in the initial stage of investigation. However, during the pendency of the case in the court, the undertrials would jump bail and flee the city. When the investigation officer got transferred, some of the absconding accused would continue to remain on the wanted list for perpetuity.

Hence a dedicated team was appointed in the beginning of the year to nab the wanted criminals.

"API Deepak Shelke, ASI Dinesh Patil, head constable Laxman Kulkarni, head constable Pravin Bangre and woman police constable Ashwini Patil have nabbed all the wanted criminals despite starting off with scant clues.

Their exemplary work is commendable," said Colaba senior police inspector Vijay Hastikar while speaking to mid-day.

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Period in years one of accused was on the run

Dastigar Shaikh, 63
Shaikh, who had been on the run since he was 35, was involved in a kidnapping case. The police had traced his original address to Cuffe Parade but he had shifted somewhere else. The police with the help of human intelligence apprehended Shaikh from Musafirkhana, Mumbai, on February 23.

Flynn Remedios, 60
According to the police he was wanted by many police stations. He had been booked in a case of rape and molestation. His address with the police led them to Malvani, but, the building was demolished. The police checked his Facebook account and subsequently apprehended him from Raksha Hospital, Malad.

Nisar Murad, 62
Murad was accused of committing fraud in a watch company where he worked. Murad had kept some watches from bulk orders for himself. He was booked in a case of cheating in 1991. Though his address available with the police was mentioned as Worli, the police arrested him from Mira Road on April 26.

Chandrakant Khamkar, 66
Khamkar was involved in a case of cheating lodged in 2000. He misled the court by providing fake guarantors for alleged accused individuals, aiding them in securing bail. Despite changing his address multiple times, the police apprehended him from Virar on March 7.

Narayan Gavand, 50
The Cuffe Parade police had booked Gavand in 2006 for selling illicit liquor. According to the police, the Cuffe Parade police had also registered a case of gambling against him. The police didn't find Gavand at his address in Kalyan. Based on a tip-off, the police arrested him from a bar in Colaba.

Vivekarvind Dixit, 60
Dixit used to dupe youngsters under the pretext of providing a job. He forged signatures on appointment letters and had provided these letters to his victims. A case under 420 for cheating had been registered against him in 2005. The police tracked him and nabbed him from Pune on October 13.

Parakattu Vasu Krishna Nair, 61
Nair faced charges related to Intellectual Property Rights violation dating back to 1987 for selling pirated CDs of films. He had been absconding for 25 years, the police traced his original address but he wasn't there. With the help of sources, the police traced his brother's address in Mira Road, but Nair had left his brother's residence. The police then traced his phone number and nabbed him from a hotel in JJ Marg on September 12. Nair had confessed to his crime and had told the police he worked with a travel firm.

Sunny Singh, 32 and Harish Rawat, 36
The two friends were involved in a fight that had broken out between two groups over a football match. A case had been registered against the duo in 2010 under section 325 for voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means and intentional insult. The police had traced Rawat's phone number and had apprehended him from Antop Hill. Based on Rawat's information, the police arrested Singh from a Juhu hotel. They were arrested on the same day on September 26.