1993 Mumbai riots accused held after being on the run for 30 years

Representational Image. File Pic

A 65-year-old man was arrested in Mumbai over alleged involvement in the 1993 Mumbai riots, reported PTI. He has been arrested after being on the run for 31 years, police said on Tuesday.

Sayyad Nadir Shah Abbas Khan was nabbed in Sewri area by a team of Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Marg police station on Monday, reported PTI citing an official.

He was accused in a case of attempt to murder and unlawful assembly during the riots in the city that followed the demolition of the Babri masjid in December 1992.

As per the report, Khan was arrested by police but never attended the court after obtaining bail, the official said.

This led to the court declaring Khan as a wanted accused and issuing a non-bailable warrant against him, the official said.

Police visited his residence in Sewri in central Mumbai many times but he remained untraceable.

By examining his relatives' cell phone records, the investigators were able to eventually track down a lead on his location. On June 29, officials of Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Marg police station got information that Khan was going to visit his residence, following which a trap was laid and he was arrested.

Khan has been re-arrested in the 1993 case and further probe was on, the official said.

Mumbai: Navy officer arrested in human trafficking racket involving forged visas to South Korea

The city crime branch has dismantled a human trafficking racket involving the use of forged documents to obtain visas and send individuals to South Korea, where they would later seek asylum. On Thursday, the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) arrested 30-year-old Vipin Dogra, a lieutenant in the Indian Navy's Western Command, for aiding the trafficking gang. Dogra faces charges under the IPC for cheating, forgery, breach of trust, and criminal conspiracy (Section 120B). He was produced before the 37th Metropolitan Magistrate Court and remanded to police custody. Officials revealed that the CIU received a tip-off about individuals applying for South Korean visas using forged documents. "The arrest was made based on the information and verification. We have found a clear role of the accused in assisting the gang to secure visas," said Datta Nalwade, DCP, Detection.

Police believe Dogra's arrest is just the beginning, as more individuals are involved in the racket. The gang reportedly charged Rs 10 lakh per candidate for facilitating illegal entry into South Korea. According to the crime branch, the accused lieutenant had been involved in the racket for the past 1.5 years and is believed to have sent multiple candidates to South Korea, where they sought asylum. So far, officials have identified five such candidates. "There are 6-7 people involved in the racket. The Indian Navy lieutenant used his position to visit the embassy, introduce himself as a navy officer to make an impression, and secure visas for the candidates, thereby misusing his post to facilitate the human trafficking operation for financial gain," said an officer.

Multiple crime branch teams have been dispatched to different states in search of other individuals accused in the case.