The Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police crime branch unit (Zone I) has arrested a 40-year-old murder convict who was wanted for nearly nine years after jumping furlough (a brief release from the prison in cases of long-term imprisonment) in a murder case. The convict who has been identified as Syed Aftab Ahmed Hassan, 40, allegedly worked for a gangster who owed his allegiance to Chhota Rajan.
The gangster was tracked down in Vietnam and brought to India in 2010. Hassan was arrested by the crime branch unit with the help of their local counterparts from a village near Ratlam city in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday.
Convict was granted a 14 day furlough
Hassan was lodged in the Nashik Road Central jail after the Mumbai City Civil and Sessions court sentenced him to life imprisonment on June 11, 2007 after he was arrested by the Borivali railway police for his involvement in a murder in 2000. On November 21, 2014,Hassan was granted a 14-day furlough. However, when he failed to report back to the Nashik Road Central Jail after the furlough period expired, the prison authorities informed the Kashimira police and a separate offence was registered against him under section 224 (resisting lawful custody) of the IPC.
While gathering information about the possible whereabouts of the absconding convict, the crime branch unit led by police inspector Aviraj Kurhade recently got a tip-off about Hassan’s presence in Jaora village near Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh. The team immediately left for Jaora after relaying the information to their local counterparts who were initially reluctant to extend help owing to the sensitive location of the specified area. Help arrived only after the intervention of Additional Commissioner Avinash Ambure established contact with Ratlam SP Siddharth Bahuguna.
Hassan continued his operations while in prison
Hassan was apprehended from Jaora where he had apparently come to visit a shrine. Hassan who allegedly continued his operations during his stint in jail and after jumping furlough was found to be in possession of two passports using which he had made a couple of international trips, highly placed sources said. “We have handed over his custody to the concerned jail authorities,” said a crime branch officer.
