Kerala Police Apprehend Fugitive in 22-Year-Old Stolen Car Racket Case
Kerala Police have arrested 60-year-old Baldev Singh in Uttar Pradesh, ending a 22-year manhunt. The man was wanted for his role in a major stolen car racket that operated across Northern India and Kerala during the early 2000s.
Highlights
- •60-year-old Baldev Singh was arrested in Uttar Pradesh after 22 years on the run.
- •The suspect was wanted for a vehicle theft racket involving stolen cars sold in Kerala.
- •Singh had been living in Delhi, Haryana, and UP, where he became a political leader.
- •Police tracked him down during a drive to clear long-pending cases in Kannur.
In a significant law enforcement development, Kerala Police have successfully apprehended a man who had been evading justice for over two decades. The suspect, identified as 60-year-old Baldev Singh, was finally taken into custody following a strategic operation. He had been on the run for 22 years after being accused of orchestrating a criminal racket involving the sale of stolen cars.
The arrest took place on Sunday in Tappal, located in the Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh. Local law enforcement officials assisted the Kerala police team in executing the warrant. Following his detention, Baldev Singh was transported back to Kerala, where he was presented before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court. The court has since remanded the accused into judicial custody, marking the end of a long-standing manhunt.
Details of the Stolen Car Racket
The investigation into Baldev Singh traces back to 2004, when the Kannur town police station registered approximately 10 criminal cases against him. According to official reports, the accused was allegedly part of a sophisticated network that stole vehicles from various locations across northern India. To facilitate the illegal sale of these assets, the group reportedly obtained forged documentation from Odisha before trafficking the stolen cars to Kannur.
While the accused had been arrested once during the initial stages of the probe, he managed to abscond after securing bail. Since then, multiple warrants, including a significant long-pending (LP) warrant, remained active against him. During his two-decade-long period as a fugitive, he reportedly resided in various regions, including Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. Authorities noted that during this time, he managed to integrate into public life, eventually rising to become a district-level leader for a political party.
The breakthrough in this cold case occurred during a specialized drive conducted by Kannur district police to clear long-pending cases. Acting on intelligence gathered during the investigation, police teams identified his whereabouts in Uttar Pradesh. This operation underscores the persistent efforts of law enforcement to resolve legacy criminal cases and ensure that individuals accused of major fraud are brought to account for their actions, regardless of the time elapsed since the initial crimes were committed. The accused, a native of Ghodi village in Palwal, Haryana, will now face the legal proceedings that were paused over twenty years ago.
