A rape accused who had escaped from a Covid care centre in July has been arrested by the Local Crime Branch (LCB) of Raigad.
In 2018, Deva Maruti Dagde (32) was arrested by the Poladpur police for allegedly raping a minor daughter of his relative. He was sent to judicial custody and had been lodged in Alibaug prison. On July 5, as many as 69 inmates, including Mr. Dagde, tested positive for COVID-19 and were taken to the centre. Around 2.30 a.m. on July 21, Dagde sneaked out from the centre after cutting the window grill.
Police inspector Dayanand Gawade from LCB said the court was to give its verdict on his case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act when the accused escaped.
A police team started the search at Mr. Dagde’s home town in Purandar taluka of Pune. He hid in the hills of Jejuri, then went to Saswad and Phaltan, and from there he left for Nipani in Belgaum, Karnataka. “We came to know that the accused was from Dhangar community and had gone to Nipani to worship ‘Balumamachi Mendhre’. The team disguised themselves as locals and stayed at Nipani for a few days, but found out that he had gone to Nallasopara,” Mr. Gawade said.
Mr. Dagde was arrested from his friend’s house in Nallasopara on Monday.
