This man murdered his landlady 49 years ago. He was caught five decades later because his name was still listed among criminals to deal with before an election.
Sitaram Bhatane (now 76) used to
be a criminal in Sajipur village in Gujarat. In Sept 1973, when he was 27, he
murdered his landlady Mani Shukla (70, a widow) during a robbery attempt.
People had seen him entering Mani’s place, but he vanished after the crime. The
body was found days later after people nearby complained of a foul smell.
Wanted posters and cash rewards
couldn’t help the police in finding Sitaram. As decades passed, the murder of
Mani Shukla attracted more and more interest from the authorities. However,
there was hardly any hope that the man will be caught. A couple of policemen
had been visiting Sajipur to inquire if Sitaram was ever seen. The relatives of
Sitaram residing there would say that he had not been seen since the murder.
...Until half a century later in
2021. That year, the police in Gujarat were strengthening law and order before
the state assembly election.
Among the tasks was a list of
‘petty’ criminals who were to be dealt with in order to prevent them from
disturbing the voting phase.
Inspector Pratipalsinh Gohil
issued a list of criminals and shared it with Maharashtra police (since
criminals can operate across the shared state border). One of those criminals
was Sitaram.
In a major coincidence, Sitaram
had recently returned to his village in Ahmednagar. The police arrived in the
village and captured him. His voting card confirmed he was THE robber-murderer
who escaped justice for half a century.
Sitaram behaved as if he had
become totally unaware and innocent over all that time. He couldn’t remember
anything. He couldn’t remember why he murdered that old woman. Yeah, the deeds
of young life will bite your knees in old age.
He was charged with robbery and
murder and will take his last breath as an imprisoned man.
Sources:
- Indian murder suspect caught after 49 years says: ‘I barely remember it’
- 49 years after murder in Gujarat, accused arrested in Maharashtra
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