Fugitive rapist held after chase of nine months

Shahpura police have nabbed an accused wanted in a rape case on Thursday. The offender was absconding for the past nine months.

He was wanted in the sexual assault case of 10-year-old girl in Baba Nagar last year in the month of July. The accused identified as Panda Jharia alias Kaluram Mehra who was travelling in a bus with her wife Pragati alias Rukmani when he was nabbed by the police.

Police said that the accused was nabbed acting on a tip off. The victim was wanted in a case in Jabalpur after he escaped with Pragati alias Rukmani Mehra who is Panda’s niece. At the time of their eloping, Pragati was mother of two daughters and later escaped with the accused. And then along with Pragati, settled in Baba Nagar under Shahpura police station area where he used to run a food stall and grocery stall.

In the year 2017, the accused was caught sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl and escaped the spot after victim’s mother arrived at the spot in search of her crying daughter.

Police had,then, registered a case of sexual assault and section 3 and 4 of the POCSO Act 2012 and started investigation.

Several places were raided in Jabalpur and Bhopal in search of the accused during the investigation but the accused managed to remain absconding. After all attempt to arrest the accused failed, police declared a reward of Rs 5000 on July 12, 2017 for providing the whereabouts of the accused.