BERHAMPUR: After evading arrest for over 26 years, Bhikari Charan Pradhan, a resident of the Polasara area in Ganjam district, was apprehended by police on Tuesday. As per sources, the 51-year-old, who had managed to slip away repeatedly from law enforcement agencies, was facing arrest on the grounds of submitting fake certificates during his selection as a police for the 3rd Battalion OSAP, Koraput, in 1997. The arrest followed an investigation that exposed Pradhan and 33 others for producing fraudulent certificates during the recruitment process.
Berhampur Vigilance Division initiated a case upon detection, and though most of the implicated persons were apprehended shortly after, Pradhan, along with a few others, had successfully evaded capture.
Despite arrest warrants issued for Pradhan, he remained elusive. The case was transferred to the Special Vigilance Judge at Jeypore, which further intensified efforts to locate him.
A close watch on Pradhan’s native village in Gareijholi, Polosara block, finally yielded results as vigilance sleuths received information about his presence. A vigilance team, in collaboration with local police, apprehended Pradhan in Polosara. Subsequently, he was handed over to Jeypore police.