In 2 months, police nab 108 of 14,230 accused on the run

Two months after special cells were set up in city police stations to trace the 14,230 accused who had either jumped bail, furlough or parole, the police have managed to catch 108 of them.

Two months after special cells were set up in city police stations to trace the 14,230 accused who had either jumped bail, furlough or parole, the police have managed to catch 108 of them.

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Of these 14,230 absconding accused, 54 have died, additional public prosecutor Ajey Gadkari told the high court on Tuesday.

In October, each police station had set up a special cell, headed by a senior police inspector and assisted by three to four constables, to trace culprits on the run.

Gadkari submitted a report prepared by the office of the Director General of Police, which stated that Mumbai topped the list among other cities in the state with 14,068 accused reported missing after being released on bail as on December 18, 2010.

After going through the report, justice AM Khanwilkar said: “You have to come out with a scheme and execute it to get favourable results. The target should be set by the commissioner of police of each area for every police station.”

Gadkari replied that the government has prepared a plan and also initiated action against absconding accused of organised syndicates.

Advocate Girish Godbole, who was appointed as amicus curie (friend of court), pointed out that the Mumbai was the “real problem area” as the highest number of accused have gone absconding from here.

The high court had taken up suo moto [on its own] cognisance of accused Ramzan Sabit Hussain, who jumped bail in 2003, after it had cancelled the bail of another accused whom the police could not trace.

Hussain was convicted in 1993 in a murder case.