26 Years On The Run, Stayed Off Mobile Phones, Moved Cities: How Surat Police Tracked Down 62-Year-Old Murder Accused

Surat: For 26 years, a murder accused allegedly stayed off mobile phones, moved between cities and avoided returning to his native village to evade arrest. Surat Police have now traced and arrested the 62-year-old man in Maharashtra's Nashik district after nearly three years of surveillance involving his sisters and nephews.

The accused, identified as Umesh Gopal Mankar, was arrested by the Prevention of Crime Branch (PCB) of Surat City Police in the Gangnagar area of Saikheda. He was wanted in a murder case registered at Pandesara Police Station in 2000. According to police, Mankar was apprehended near Lalabhai's brick kiln after officers verified information about his whereabouts and obtained written approval from senior officials.

He will be handed over to Pandesara Police Station for further investigation, and legal proceedings are underway. Murder Allegedly Followed Dispute In Surat In 2000 During questioning, Mankar reportedly told investigators that he was working as a manual labourer in Surat's Pandesara area in 2000 when he got into an argument with a man identified as Dattu Malji Patil.