71-Year-Old Fugitive Arrested After 48 Years on the Run for Attempted Murder in Mumbai

Chandrashekhar Kalekar, a 71-year-old fugitive, was finally apprehended after evading law enforcement for nearly five decades. The suspect had been wanted for a 1977 knife attack on a woman in Mumbai's Lalbaug area.

Mumbai Police demonstrated exceptional persistence in tracking down the elderly suspect. Officials employed a combination of voter records, public documents, and human intelligence to locate Kalekar in a remote coastal village in Dapoli taluka, Ratnagiri district, where he was arrested on Tuesday morning.

During his 48 years as a fugitive, Kalekar repeatedly changed his residence, moving between various Mumbai suburbs and Badlapur town in Thane district. He deliberately ignored all legal notices and vanished without a trace after the 1977 assault.

The breakthrough came when police officers revisited cold case files of long-term fugitives. Their renewed investigation uncovered credible intelligence suggesting Kalekar was living as a recluse in the coastal village, leading to his successful apprehension after nearly half a century on the run.

Despite Kalekar's attempts to disguise his identity and live in isolation, the Mumbai Police's methodical approach ultimately proved that even after decades, justice can still catch up with those attempting to escape their past crimes.