AHMEDABAD: The Crime Branch of Gujarat Police has arrested a fugitive murder convict who spent the last 12 years living as a struggling actor in Bollywood. Hemant Modi was sentenced to life imprisonment in a 2005 murder case and was serving a jail term when in jumped parole in 2014. The police say he changed identities and moved to Mumbai, where he acted in more than 40 films, serials, and plays.
Modi shared screen space with top Bollywood names in this period and acted in films like “Thugs of Hindostan”, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan, and “Jayeshbhai Jordaar”, which featured Ranveer Singh. He also worked in Gujarati cinema, theatre productions, and web series, in which he acted alongside popular names like Hitu Kanodia and Hiten Kumar.
Sources said Modi was involved in a scuffle in the Naroda area of Ahmedabad in 2005, when a seemingly minor dispute over placing a ladder on a road spiralled into street violence. Hemant Modi, along with his brother Sachin Modi and five friends, attacked one Narendra Kamble during the clash. Kamble was killed, for all seven were sentenced to life imprisonment in 2008.
Hemant was lodged in the Mehsana jail. According to investigators, prison life shattered him emotionally. He reportedly told his wife that his entire life would now end behind bars. The relationship collapsed soon after, ending in divorce. Hemant allegedly began plotting a second life and got an opportunity in 2014, when he was released on 30-day parole.
Hemant jumped the parole, fled Gujarat, and started living in Mumbai under different identities, including Spandan Modi and Twinkle Dave. His dramatic escape ended after the Crime Branch received intelligence inputs suggesting Hemant Modi had quietly been visiting Ahmedabad. Acting on the tip-off, officials launched technical surveillance and monitored his movements. After days of tracking, the Crime Branch laid a trap near Ghee Kanta Metro Station, where Hemant was finally detained.
