New Delhi, June 18 (IANS) Delhi Police have claimed that they have solved a 17-year-old case of kidnapping and rape by arresting a proclaimed offender, carrying a bounty of Rs 25000.

Officials said that the accused, who had fled to Kuwait after committing the offence in 2009, was arrested from his native village in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor after a massive manhunt of 17 years.

The arrested accused, identified as Irshad Ahmed alias Sonu, had remained on the run despite sustained efforts to trace him and was finally apprehended after meticulous intelligence gathering and surveillance by the Central Range team.

The complainant used to run a boutique where the accused worked as a tailor. According to the police, the accused allegedly kidnapped the complainant’s minor daughter with the intention of marriage and later raped her. After committing the offence, the accused managed to flee and, since then, had evaded arrest before finally being nabbed from his native place.

An FIR No. 117/2009 u/s 363/366/376/506/511/342 IPC dated April 9, 2009, was registered at Bindapur Police Station in Delhi, in connection with the case.

Subsequently, he was declared a proclaimed offender by the Dwarka Court.

A dedicated team of Central Range force, comprising Inspector Vinay Kumar, Sub-Inspectors Ritesh, Vikash, Jai Kumar, and HC’s Bijendra Singh and Pankaj, was constituted under ACP Satendra Mohan, Central Range, Crime Branch, and under the overall supervision of DCP Crime Branch Harsh Indora to trace and apprehend the absconding accused.

During the scrutiny of old records, details of the accused were retrieved and further developed. The team continuously worked on both technical surveillance and manual intelligence for a considerable period. During the course of tracking, SI Ritesh received crucial information regarding the accused at Bijnor and Chandigarh.

It was revealed that after absconding in 2009, the accused had obtained a passport from Chandigarh and left for Kuwait in 2011, where he started working as a tailor. Over the years, he had virtually settled in Kuwait and visited India only occasionally, making his apprehension extremely challenging.

As a result of these relentless efforts, SI Ritesh finally developed credible information regarding the arrival and presence of the accused at his native village in Bijnor. Acting swiftly on the intelligence, the team rushed to his native village and laid a trap.

On June 16, the team successfully apprehended the accused and closed a 17-year-long manhunt.

–IANS

cg/skp