In a dramatic late-night twist straight out of a crime thriller, Salman alias Nazar, 23, accused of raping a six-year-old girl in Madhya Pradesh's Raisen district was finally caught not by police patrols, but by two sharp-eyed local youths at a tea stall in Bhopal's Gandhi Nagar on Thursday. The intense 144-hour search for Salman ended in a dramatic arrest in Bhopal, followed by a shocking escape attempt that ended with police opening fire.
According to police sources, Salman had trekked into Bhopal through the forest, dodging checkpoints, and had been hiding in the Gandhi Nagar locality. He had no mobile phone, no documents, and was in an inebriated state when caught.
As soon as news broke of his detention, workers of the Jai Maa Bhavani Hindu organization rushed to the Gandhi Nagar police station but by then, Salman had already been taken away by Gauharganj police, who had taken him into custody, and left immediately.
After the arrest, tension flared in the city. On Friday morning, leaders of the Hindu Utsav Samiti and Sanskriti Bachao Manch reached Hamidia Hospital, raising slogans and demanding harsh action.
Committee president Chandrashekhar Tiwari, accusing the administration of a "weak information system" that allowed the accused to hide in Bhopal for days, said "the accused should be shot dead."
The real twist came from Naya Basti, where two young men - Abdul Rizwan and Asif - played the most crucial role in arresting the fugitive.
Speaking exclusively to NDTV, Abdul Rizwan recounted the tense moment.
"I recognized him from a photo on social media. He was roaming around Sector-11 asking for a house to rent. Our boys noticed he had no ID, no registration. He looked exactly like the Raisen accused. He was drunk. We kept him detained from 10 pm to 11:15 pm until the Gauharganj police arrived."
Rizwan said the accused kept trying to escape, but the group kept him engaged until the police reached.
"He asked for a room to rent, but when we asked for an ID card, he said he had nothing. He claimed he slept on the footpath. We detained him. He kept trying to leave, so we stopped him on the pretext of offering him tea. Then the Crime Branch team arrived and took him away."
The youths say Salman told them he had no family support, his mother had died and he lived alone in Karond. The accused was handed over right at the intersection where he was caught, ending a six-day chase that included forest routes, footpaths, and rented-room inquiries.
