A man who had been on the run for 17 years was arrested by the police from Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor on charges of kidnapping and raping a minor girl.
A case was regisered against him at Bindapur police station in Delhi on April 9, 2009.
The man, Irshad Ahmed alias Sonu (42), was a proclaimed offender. He was carrying a reward of Rs 25,000 and had allegedly evaded arrest since 2009. He fled to Kuwait where he lived and worked as a tailor for several years.
The victim was a 17-year-old girl. The victim's mother, who ran a boutique, had alleged that Ahmed, then employed as a tailor at the establishment, kidnapped her daughter with the intention of marrying her and sexually assaulted her.
Ahmed soon disappeared and continuously evaded arrest despite repeated efforts by the police to nab him.
While he was on the run, he married another woman.
On May 25, 2011, a Delhi court declared Ahmed a proclaimed offender after it was informed that he remained untraceable.
"The crime branch was assigned the task of tracing and apprehending Ahmed. A team revisited old records and developed fresh leads. Meanwhile Ahmed obtained a passport from Chandigarh and left for Kuwait in 2011," a police officer said.
During investigation, police found that Ahmed had virtually settled in the Gulf nation and worked as a tailor in a boutique.
He allegedly remarried during his stay abroad, while his family continued to reside in his native village in Bijnor.
Police found that he rarely visited India and generally arrived only for important family occasions, making his apprehension particularly challenging.
"Recently, the team received specific information that the accused had arrived at his native village on June 3 to attend a family function and was likely to return to Kuwait by the end of the month.
Acting on the input, the police team laid a trap and apprehended him on June 16, bringing to an end a 17-year-long manhunt," the police officer said.
Further legal proceedings are underway, he added.
(With inputs from PTI)
