Surat Police arrested 62‑year‑old Umesh Gopal Mankar in the Gangnagar area of Saikheda, Nashik district, on a Monday night after a coordinated raid near a brick‑kiln. Assistant Sub‑Inspector Dilipsinh Kesharisinh and Head Constable Ashokbhai Luni, acting on a tip from the victim’s family, apprehended him as he walked past the site, a location that had been identified only weeks before through human‑intel feeds.
The arrest ends a 26‑year chase that began with a murder case registered at Pandesara Police Station in Surat in 2000. Mankar, who allegedly struck Dattu Malji Patil with a wooden stick during a dispute over a labour contract, was charged under Section 302 of the IPC. The case had been dormant for almost a quarter‑century until the Prevention of Crime Branch (PCB) intensified its focus on long‑absconding accused.
Mankar had avoided detection by staying off mobile phones, moving between Madhya Pradesh towns—Barwani, Ujjain, Indore—and finally settling in Nashik, where he worked as a casual labourer. His avoidance tactics made it nearly impossible for police to pin him down, as his sisters and nephews were the only living links to his whereabouts.
Over the past three years, PCB teams combed through native addresses and interviewed family members, gathering concrete evidence that linked Mankar to the Saikheda area. Inspector R. S. Suvera’s directive to exploit family connections paid off when a nephew provided a confirming selfie that matched surveillance footage by the brick‑kiln.
The operation also led to the arrest of 58 other long‑absconding accused over the last three‑and‑a‑half years, according to the PCB. After the arrest, Mankar will be transferred to Pandesara Police Station for formal charges and further investigation. The court is expected to schedule a hearing in the coming weeks, and the case serves as a reminder of the persistence required to bring long‑running fugitives to justice.