Navi Mumbai: The Central Unit of the Crime Branch has arrested a cleaner who had been absconding for 14 years after allegedly killing his fellow truck driver over a mere Rs 1,000. The accused, identified as Laxman Gangadhar Kakade (36), was nabbed from Khed in Pune district and handed over to the APMC police for further investigation.
The victim in the case, Ajinath Tryambak Daud, was a truck driver, while the accused Kakade worked as a cleaner with him. On November 26, 2011, the two had brought their truck to the APMC Market when an argument broke out between them over Rs 1,000. In the heat of the argument, Kakade allegedly attacked Daud with a sharp weapon, fatally injuring him, and fled the scene.
Following the incident, the APMC police registered a case under IPC Section 302 and began a search for the accused. However, when Kakade evaded capture for years, the police filed a chargesheet under CRPC Section 299 against the absconding accused in 2015.
Recently, Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner Milind Bharambe directed a review of long-pending murder cases, leading to renewed efforts to trace Kakade. Under the guidance of Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ajaykumar Landge, the Crime Branch began tracking the accused with the help of the NATGRID portal developed by the central government.
Further analysis of technical and data intelligence pointed to the accused residing in Khed, Pune. A team led by Senior Police Inspector Sunil Shinde, including API Sachin Kokre, Satish Bhosale, constable Anil Yadav, Thakur, and police naik Navnath Patil, proceeded to Khed and successfully apprehended Kakade.
"The accused had been evading arrest for all these years by shifting his workplace. He is originally from Ahmadnagar," ACP Landge said. The accused has been handed over to the APMC Police for further legal action, ACP Landge confirmed.
