Pune: Dedicated drive launched to hunt down wanted persons in serious criminal cases

THE CRIME Branch of Pune Police has launched a dedicated drive to hunt down suspects in serious criminal cases, who are on the run and have evaded arrest. There are 54 such suspects wanted in cases of murder, 76 for attempted murder, 32 linked to organised gangs and 2,600 in other offences. Some cases date back 20 years. Police said they will use the national database of criminals to get in touch with known associates or rivals of these suspects.

Officials said in the latest weekly review meeting chaired by Pune police commissioner Amitabh Gupta, the issue of suspects, either wanted in serious cases or those denoted as absconding by the courts in certain cases, was discussed at length. Gupta is said to have instructed top officials from the crime branch to conduct a dedicated drive to arrest these suspects.

Accordingly, dedicated teams have been formed consisting officials and personnel from the six zone-wise units of the crime branch, and also from the anti-extortion, anti-dacoity and anti-organised crime cells.

Deputy commissioner of police (crime) Shrinivas Ghadge said, “As part of the drive, we are looking for 54 people wanted for murder, 76 for attempt to murder, 32 linked to organised crime, who have been charged under the MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act) and over 2,600 wanted in other offences that include body as well as property offences and crimes under several other heads. Some cases date back 20 years or further back.”

A senior official, who is coordinating the efforts by these teams, said, “Our teams will use various means to track down these suspects. We will review the files of these cases to see how the suspects were linked to other suspects in the case or to the complainants. We will gather ground-level intelligence. We will also refer to the national database of criminals, Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and System. We will check known associates or rivals of absconding suspects for more clues on their current locations.”

Another officer said, “Many times a trail goes cold in some cases. In some cases, investigating teams have to prioritise other cases after spending resources on some. There can be lapses in some. In some, after the initial arrest of some of the suspects, not enough time and resources are allocated to arrest others. In some cases, a suspect succeeds in evading arrest. Some suspects manage to change identities, start a completely new life at a different location.”

Additional commissioner of police (crime) Ashok Morale said, “Every now and then, we get clues on old cases and make arrests as and when there are breakthroughs. But a dedicated drive will make sure that we put in resources into bringing these absconding or wanted criminals to justice.”