Ahmedabad, June 21 (IANS) A man convicted in a 1997 robbery and gang rape case has been arrested in Uttar Pradesh after remaining absconding for nearly a decade following a parole violation, Gujarat Police said on Sunday.

The arrest was made by the Ahmedabad Rural Local Crime Branch (LCB) and Parole Furlough Squad during “Operation Karavas-2”, a statewide drive launched to trace and apprehend parole and furlough absconders.

According to police, the operation was conducted from June 8 to June 21 under the directions of the Director General of Police (DGP) G.S. Malik.

Senior officers, including Inspector General of Police (Ahmedabad Range) Raghvendra Vats and Ahmedabad Rural Superintendent of Police (SP) Om Prakash Jat, had instructed teams across the district to identify and arrest absconding convicts and parole jumpers.

The arrested man was identified as Sarfaddin Suleman Fakir, a resident of Islamnagar in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district.

Police said he had been serving a sentence in connection with a robbery and gang rape case registered at Aslali Police Station in Ahmedabad Rural before jumping parole and remaining at large for the past 10 years.

Investigators received information that Fakir was living in Islamnagar, prompting a targeted operation based on human intelligence and technical surveillance.

Acting on specific inputs, a team led by Police Sub-Inspector P.G. Baraiya traced and apprehended him in Uttar Pradesh. Police said Fakir was convicted in a case dating back to February 11, 1997.

According to the case records, he and his accomplices allegedly entered an area near Bareja village during the night, confined the complainant’s husband and children in a room and then sexually assaulted the woman.

The accused were also found guilty of robbing the complainant of her gold and silver ornaments and cash.

The charges were subsequently proved before a court, which sentenced those involved.

Following his arrest, Fakir was brought back to Gujarat and sent to Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad to serve the remainder of his sentence.

–IANS

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