Shesh Narain Shastri was also booked for rape and murder in 2013.For over 35 years, Shesh Narain Shastri, now 55 years old, kept dodging arrest. Accused of killing his neighbour in Majra village of Unnao district in 1982 when he was 20 years old, Shastri jumped bail a year later and managed to hoodwink police all these years till his cellphone gave away his location to police.
According to police, Shastri used to dress as a priest and regularly changed his locations as well as his mobile numbers, making it therefore very difficult to track him. “No one could give any specific information about Shesh Narain Shastri as he regularly changed his locations and also his cellphone numbers,” said Station House Officer, Ajgain Police Station, Ajay Raj Verma.
According to police, Shastri and nine others were booked for the murder of his neighbour Babu Singh in 1982. After obtaining bail from the High Court in 1983, Shastri went missing. “In 1984, all other accused in the murder case were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, but Shastri remained absconding and his trial is still pending,” said the SHO.
Meanwhile, while collecting information about him, police came to know that Shastri, who worked as a farmer before his arrest, was booked for murder and rape of a girl in Barra police station of Kanpur district in 2013. “He was arrested and sent to jail. But after obtaining bail a year later, Shastri again went missing,” said SHO Raj, adding that the Kanpur police did not inform them about Shastri’s arrest in 2013.
“Recently, we came to know about the cellphone number that Shastri was using. With the help of our surveillance team, we arrested him from Sonik area of Unnao city,” the SHO said, adding that they found Shastri had also moved to Madhya Pradesh.
