Odisha Police apprehended a man who had been evading arrest for 23 years in connection with a murder case, an officer said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Sachindra Sahani alias Sachi (50), was finally caught in Gujarat’s Surat. He along with six others, had allegedly killed Lingaraj Patra at Patigada in Ganjam district on March 25, 2003 due to previous enmity.
A murder case was registered at the Kabisurya Nagar police station following a complaint lodged by the deceased’s wife, Laxmi Patra, the officer said.
Patigada village was under Kabisurya Nagar police station limits at the time of the crime, but is now under the jurisdiction of Polasara police station, he said.
Police had previously arrested the six other co-accused—Alekh Patra, Mitu Mohanty, Sushant Mohanty, Bapu Dalei, Mitu Routa, and Kanhu Routa—but Sahani managed to evade capture.
An arrest warrant issued by the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Court, Kabisurya Nagar, was pending against him.
“We tried to nab him several times by raiding different places in Odisha and other states, and finally caught him in Surat,” Ganjam Superintendent of Police Subhendu Patra said.
Sahani had settled in Surat, working as a mechanic in a power-loom and using a fake name.
The accused was living with his family in Surat, where two of his sons were studying in college and his daughter was married, according to Kaushik Majhi, Inspector-in-charge of Polasara police station.
Acting on a tip-off, a police team rushed to Surat, where they arrested Sahani from his residence. He was brought back to Polsara on Wednesday.
