No phone, no address: Robbery accused held 40 years after jumping bail in UP

LUCKNOW: Nearly four decades after securing bail from the Allahabad high court and slipping into obscurity, a 65-year-old robbery accused carrying a reward of Rs 15,000 finally ran out of places to hide. Kanpur Dehat police traced him after a painstaking two-month hunt during which officers posed as village labourers and searched more than 20 possible hideouts.The accused, Balister alias Ramesh Chandra, a native of Muradpur village under Mangalpur police station, was arrested from Auraiya town late Wednesday.According to police, a case under Section 394 of the IPC was registered against him in 1986 for allegedly assaulting a person along with an accomplice and robbing him of Rs 1,500.The accused was initially arrested and spent around one-and-a-half years in jail before securing bail from the Allahabad high court, said Praveen Kumar, SHO, Mangalpur.Kumar said that around 1990, after securing bail, he sold nearly seven bighas of agricultural land and his house in Muradpur and moved to Panipat in Haryana, where he worked in a factory and gradually erased his earlier identity by changing his name to Ramesh Chandra.For years, he left little trail behind, shunning mobile phones, avoiding a permanent address and steering clear of documents that could reveal his identity, according to the SHO.He also married a woman in Panipat and had a son. Following his wife's death in 2002, he sent the child to live with his sister in Muradpur.Kumar said the breakthrough came after police intensified their efforts following the court's intervention and directions to trace the long-absconding accused."With no mobile number or reliable address to track, investigators began questioning relatives and discreetly visiting villages where he was suspected to have connections," the SHO added.The police team spent nearly two months pursuing leads, checking more than 20 possible hideouts and visiting distant relatives. To avoid raising suspicion, personnel even posed as ordinary village labourers, mingling with locals and making discreet inquiries about the fugitive's whereabouts."We visited every household and his over 70 distant relatives to track him," Kumar told TOI.During the investigation, police learnt that the accused occasionally visited relatives but changed locations whenever he sensed police activity. His movements were largely confined to distant family connections, making the search particularly challenging.After tracking his movements through these relatives, the team finally located him at a relative's residence in Auraiya. When police personnel approached him, he reportedly attempted to retreat, but his age made it difficult for him to escape.During questioning, he reportedly disclosed his involvement in several criminal cases, including around 22 robbery cases and two assault cases."We are acting in all cases where accused persons have absconded despite the issuance of non-bailable warrants (NBWs). Police teams have been tasked with tracing and arresting such fugitives, and efforts are underway to ensure their apprehension," said Shraddha Narendra Pandey, SP, Kanpur Dehat.You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Lucknow | Silver Rate in Lucknow | Bank Holidays in Lucknow | Public Holidays in Lucknow | Lucknow AQI | Weather in Lucknow | Petrol Price in Lucknow | Diesel Price in Lucknow | CNG Price in Lucknow | LPG Price in LucknowStay updated with the latest Lucknow news. Download the TOI App.