MANGALURU: A man who was on the run for the last 50 years after he was granted bail in a rice smuggling case, was finally caught by the long arm of the law, on Tuesday. Raghav, who is now 74 years old, was resting in his two-storeyed house at Pilikun on Amey Road in Kasargod, Kerala, when two police officials from Puttur town came knocking at his door.
Posing as Kerala cops, Head Constable Parameshwar and constable Harish first took him to the Kasargod police station stating that he is wanted in a road accident case. There, he was told that he is wanted by the Karnataka police in an LPC (Long Pending Case) that dates back to 1967. The old man did not have any qualms in owning up to the crime.
Police Sub-inspector Ajay Kumar said, “Three people, including Raghav, were arrested in 1967 for illegally transporting rice meant for distribution under the public distribution system (PDS) from Karnataka to Kerala in a truck. The truck driver Raghav, the owner and cleaner were booked under Essential Commodities Act. Within a few days, Raghav was released on bail. But he did not turn up at court despite several warrants. Meanwhile, among the other two accused, one died and the case on another was cleared. Puttur cops made several visits to his house in Chen Kadu near Madhur in Kasargod but could not find him. Recently, they got the information about his whereabouts and were finally able to nab him.”
Additional Superintendent of Police V J Sajith said the police may not have paid much to this case earlier as the accused was from Kerala and also because the offence was not of serious nature. Recently, they had started revisiting unsolved old cases and that’s when they started investigations on this case. Interestingly, police did not have any picture of Raghav.
Sub-inspector Ajay Kumar said that after inquiries over four-five days, they were able to zero in on Raghav.“We enquired about him with a number of people in the SC/ST Colony at the village mentioned in his address stating that he was a truck driver then. We also mentioned about his father. Finally, one person gave us the contact number of Raghav’s nephew’s. When we contacted the nephew, he gave us Raghav’s current address,” he said.