Navi Mumbai man accused of murdering wife arrested after 33 years

Thane: The Navi Mumbai police have arrested a 70-year-old man absconding since the last 33 years after allegedly killing his wife, an official said on Tuesday.

The accused, Babu Gudgiram Kale, was apprehended on Sunday near Mulund suburb in neighbouring Mumbai, where he had been working as a labourer and selling flowers for livelihood, he said.

The case dates back to January 28, 1991, when Kale, following frequent domestic disputes with his wife, allegedly doused her with kerosene and set her on fire at his home in Panvel area of Navi Mumbai, Panvel Town police station's senior inspector Nitin Thackeray said.

The woman later succumbed to severe burn injuries while undergoing treatment at a hospital, he said.

An FIR was subsequently registered against Kale under Indian Penal Code section 302 (murder) and a local court issued an arrest warrant against him, the official said.

Kale, however, evaded capture and remained in hiding for more than three decades.

The police pursued several leads, employing both intelligence and technical inputs to track the fugitive.

Initial tips indicated his presence in Mulund area of Mumbai. But the trail later led the police to Parbhani in Maharashtra's Marathwada region and eventually back to Mumbai based on Kale's mobile phone data and surveillance, the official said.

The accused was caught off guard when the police apprehended him on Sunday, he said.

Following his arrest, Kale was produced before a local magistrate who remanded in police custody till January 3, 2025, the police said.