Dehradun: The Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) has arrested a dacoit with a bounty of Rs 1 lakh on his head, who had been on the run for 20 years, police said.
The accused was apprehended from Vellore district, Tamil Nadu. The dacoit, along with his accomplices, was involved in a major robbery at Allahabad Bank in the Haridwar Kotwali area in 2004. Since then, the accused had been evading the authorities. One of his accomplices, Tipu, was killed in a police encounter in 2005, they said.
SSP of Uttarakhand STF, Naveen Singh Bhullar, revealed details about the case. He said in 2004, a major robbery took place at Allahabad Bank in Haridwar.
"A month later, one of the robbers, Tipu, was killed in a police encounter, while four other accomplices were arrested by Haridwar police in 2005. However, the sixth accused, Uday alias Vikrant, a resident of Patna, Bihar, managed to escape," Bhullar said.
Despite extensive efforts by Haridwar police, including the attachment of Uday’s house, the accused remained elusive. In an effort to capture him, the Uttarakhand police announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for any information leading to his arrest. Over the years, the Uttarakhand STF continued their search, eventually obtaining crucial information about Uday’s whereabouts.
The breakthrough came when the Uttarakhand STF received intelligence that Uday was hiding in Vellore district. Acting swiftly, a team from the STF was dispatched to Tamil Nadu. Working alongside the local police, they tracked down Uday and arrested him. On October 19, the Uttarakhand STF brought Uday back to Haridwar.
On December 17, 2004, six criminals, including Uday, carried out a daring bank robbery in Haridwar. Armed with pistols, they stormed the bank, took the staff hostage, and locked them in the strong room. The gang then robbed Rs 9.61 lakh.
According to SSP Bhullar, before the 2004 bank robbery, Uday had been involved in the kidnapping of a man named Ravinder alias Arvind for ransom in Patna. After the kidnapping, Uday fled to Haridwar, where he set up a juice cart as a cover while planning the bank heist.
Following Tipu’s death in the police encounter, Uday changed his name and fled to Visakhapatnam with his brother, Pawan Kumar. There, he lived under the radar, running a clothes cart on the footpath, eventually marrying and settling into a new life. However, his past finally caught up with him after two decades on the run. Uday is now in police custody.
