Murder accused on run for over 35 years arrested in Palghar

A police probe team worked on technical and intelligence inputs to locate Clamant Simon Lobo alias Munna. The police recently got a tip that the accused, Lobo (55), had come to India and was residing in Manickpur area of Vasai town.

Palghar: A murder case accused on the run for more than 35 years has been arrested in Palghar district of Maharashtra, an official said on Wednesday.

On November 30, 1988, a person, Salim Akbar Ali (24), was killed by a group of persons at Navghar in Vasai area of Palghar over an enmity, Manickpur police station's senior inspector Raju Mane said.

An FIR was then registered under Indian Penal Code sections 302 (murder) and 34 (common intention) against eight persons - Vijay Sudam Rane, Shankar Bagali Makhan, Dharma Dharmendra, Shekar Pujari, Chandrashekar Shetty, Kumar Hode, Dhananjay Belur and Clamant Simon Lobo alias Munna.

Except for Belur and Lobo, the other six accused were arrested in 1988, the official said.

Lobo had been in Bahrain and returned to India three years back, he said.

A police probe team worked on technical and intelligence inputs to locate the accused. The police recently got a tip that Lobo (55) had come to India and was residing in Manickpur area of Vasai town.

The police laid a trap and nabbed Lobo on Monday from a house where he had hid himself, the official said.

During the interrogation, Lobo told the police that he had a long-standing feud with Ali due to which he was killed with the help of the other accused, the official said. Efforts were still on to nab Belur, he added.

Details of the other arrested accused were not yet known.