After MiD DAY reported that the man had escaped from a police van on April 30 to woo his estranged sweetheart, it emerges that in spite of all his insistences that she run away with him to Uttar Pradesh, she told cops of his whereabouts, leading to his arrest
A daring escape made by a robber a fortnight ago to save his relationship with his girlfriend ended on a note of twisted irony, when the woman tipped off cops regarding his whereabouts, leading to his arrest on Wednesday. On April 30, the accused Abhay Raj Saroj escaped from a police van that was escorting him from the Andheri court to Arthur Road jail (‘Jilted criminal escapes police custody to win back girlfriend’, May 4, MiD DAY).u00a0The van had 53 other accused and four constables. Abhay fled in order to patch things up with his girlfriend, who he feared had left him.u00a0He spent the next 16 days in hiding, roaming the city in search of an appropriate hideout.
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Frequent traps
An officer from Oshiwara police station said, “After escaping from police custody, Abhay first went to meet his girlfriend. The girl refused to entertain his demands, but he kept frequenting her Goregaon residence, and even met her parents in Mira Road on several occasions.” The officer added, “We laid traps to ensnare him several times, but he gave us the slip each time.”
According to the Oshiwara police, after trying to convince his girlfriend for over 16 days, Abhay was finally successful on Wednesday, when she ‘agreed’ to run away with him. Police said that following the girl’s promise, Abhay also booked tickets for Uttar Pradesh, where he was planning to settle down with the girl after marrying her. He booked two tickets for a Thursday night train, and was in constant touch with the girl.
The arrest
On Wednesday night, he decided to visit Jalwa bar in Bhagat Singh Nagar, Goregaon West. It was then that the girl gave cops the tip-off about Abhay. Oshiwara police laid a trap and arrested Abhay just outside the bar. Assistant Police Inspector Sanjay More of the Oshiwara police station said, “We have arrested the accused and he will be transferred to Kherwadi police station as he had run away from a police van in their jurisdiction.”u00a0