Murder Convict On The Run For 35 Years Arrested In Gujarat

Thirty-five years after being on the run, a murder convict, who had jumped parole, was apprehended by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad in Rajkot, an official said on Saturday.

An ATS team on Friday caught convict Dheendra Dhanani from Jetpur in Rajkot district, where he was living under a fake identity, he said.

Dheendra was arrested in 1984 along with his brother Chandrakant for murdering one Kalu Patel and a case was registered against the duo at Chowk Bazaar police station in Surat city, the official said.

The brothers were sentenced to life imprisonment, and in 1987, they were released on parole after the murder of their younger brother. They were on the run ever since, he said.

Dheendra was looking for an opportunity to flee abroad like his brother Chandrakant, who remains on the run, the official said.

"Preliminary investigations have revealed that after jumping parole, the accused returned to his native village in Jetpur and informed the villagers and relatives that he was released by the Supreme Court," the official said.

He then fled to Jaipur in Rajasthan, where he assumed a fake identity as Dalsukhbhai and worked as a trader before returning to his native village during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Gujarat ATS sub-inspector RB Rana received information that Dheendra was living in Jetpur under a fake identity, following which officials worked for three months to locate the accused and track his movements, the official said.