On the run for 16 years, murder accused back home for Ramzan, held
THE CASE The man is wanted in a 24yearold murder case. The Rajasthan high court had sentenced him to life imprisonment in 2001 We got information that Mohammed has come to his house for Ramzan. We monitored his activities and finally arrested him on Thursday. He has been sent to jail.
A sudden shift towards religion became the undoing for murder accused Isha Mohammed. He successfully managed to elude the police for the last 16 years but was arrested after returning home to attend Ramzan prayers with his family.
According to the police, Mohammed, a resident of Bharatpur district, was wanted in a 24-year-old murder case and has been absconding for the last 16 years. “Mohammed had murdered an acquaintance in 1993 over a land dispute between their families. A long drawn court case followed and finally, the Rajasthan High Court sentenced him to life imprisonment in 2001,” said Yogendra Singh, station house officer, Jurhara police station, Bharatpur.
Officials said that following the court decision, Mohammed went into hiding and allegedly crossed into neighbouring state Haryana.
“Mohammed’s family lives in a village called Jurairi, which is situated on the border of Haryana. This gave the accused the chance to flee to Haryana,” said Singh.
Singh is among the long line of station house officers who have been at the helm of the Jurhara police station in the last 16 years.
In spite of the change of guard, the search for Mohammed was on, primarily carried on by a network of trusted informants.
“For all these years, our informants had kept an eye on his family and possible whereabouts. Mohammed was also cornered in 2007 when had come to Rajasthan but managed to escape after clashing with the police. A separate case was registered thereafter,” said the Singh, the incumbent SHO.
At the end, it appears that ‘divine intervention’ finally helped the police nab Mohammed, now 45-year-old.
Apparently, Mohammed came out of his hiding place in Haryana, specifically to offer Ramzan prayers with his family.
“We got information that Mohammed has come to his house for Ramzan. We monitored his activities and finally arrested him on Thursday. He was presented in court and has been sent to jail,” said Singh.
The police said that during interrogation Mohammed accepted that in all these years he has been hiding in Haryana at a relative’s place.