Mangaluru: Police have arrested two men who had allegedly been absconding for several years after failing to appear before courts in separate theft and robbery cases, with one accused evading arrest for nearly eight years and another for around 13 years.
In the first case, Mangaluru East Police arrested a 45-year-old man who had been absconding in connection with a theft case registered in 2006. In a separate operation, Venoor Police arrested a 43-year-old warrant accused in a robbery case after he allegedly remained absconding for nearly 13 years.
Both accused were subsequently taken into custody following police efforts to trace them on the basis of pending court warrants.
Theft accused traced to Kerala
The first accused has been identified as Muwach, a resident of Hilery Nagar in Mukkacheri, Ullal. Police said he had recently been residing in Peruvalathuparamba in Irikkur, Kerala.
A theft case had been registered against him at the Mangaluru East Police Station in 2006 under Section 379 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
According to police, Muwach repeatedly failed to appear before the court during the proceedings and remained absconding. As a result, the court issued a Long Pending Case (LPC) warrant against him.
Acting on the warrant, officers of the Mangaluru East Police Station launched efforts to trace the accused. Police eventually located and arrested him.
Following his arrest, he was produced before the jurisdictional court, police said.
The arrest brought the long-pending case back before the judicial process after the accused allegedly remained unavailable for court proceedings for nearly eight years.
Court warrant leads to arrest
Police said the arrest was made in compliance with the court-issued LPC warrant.
Warrants are issued when an accused fails to appear before the court despite being required to do so during the course of legal proceedings. Police teams are then tasked with tracing the accused and ensuring their production before the court.
In this case, the accused had allegedly remained absconding and repeatedly failed to appear, leading to the warrant being issued against him.
After tracing him to Kerala, the Mangaluru East Police took him into custody and produced him before the jurisdictional court.
The case highlights the continued efforts by police to trace persons against whom long-pending warrants have been issued, including those who relocate to other districts or states.
Robbery accused held after 13 years
In a separate case, Venoor Police arrested a 43-year-old man who had allegedly been absconding for around 13 years after failing to appear before a court in connection with a robbery case.
The accused has been identified as Srinivas K, also known as Sheenappa and Sheena.
He was wanted in a case registered at the Venoor Police Station under Section 395 of the IPC.
According to police, Srinivas allegedly failed to appear before the court for trial for around 13 years. He was subsequently declared a warrant accused.
Acting on specific information, a team from the Venoor Police Station traced him to Koracharatti in Harapanahalli, Vijayanagara district.
The police team arrested him and brought him into custody.
Police team carries out operation
The operation to trace and arrest Srinivas was carried out by a Venoor Police team comprising Assistant Sub-Inspector Bennichan, Head Constable Krishna, and constables Basavaraj SP and Mohan Kumar.
The team acted on a tip-off regarding the accused’s whereabouts and successfully traced him at Koracharatti.
Following his arrest, Srinivas was produced before the court and remanded in judicial custody.
The arrest came after the accused had allegedly remained absconding for more than a decade, resulting in the case remaining pending.
Focus on long-pending warrant cases
The two arrests underline the continuing efforts of police to trace accused persons who evade court proceedings for extended periods.
In both cases, the accused had allegedly failed to appear before the courts, resulting in warrants being issued against them. The police subsequently traced them in locations away from their original areas of residence.
The Mangaluru East Police traced the theft accused to Kerala, while the Venoor Police located the robbery accused in Vijayanagara district following a tip-off.
The successful operations are expected to help move the long-pending cases forward through the judicial process.
Police have reiterated that persons against whom court warrants have been issued can be traced and arrested even after several years, with coordination, intelligence gathering and follow-up playing an important role in tracking long-absconding accused.