Man wanted in rape case held after 23 years in Palghar district

Palghar: A man on the run for more than 23 years after he allegedly raped a woman in Palghar district of Maharashtra was traced after months of surveillance and arrested recently, police said on Monday.

The accused, Shantaram Veena (Inu) Varta, now 49-year-old, managed to evade arrest since May 2001, when he committed the crime, by frequently changing his locations, a senior police officer said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone III, Jayant Bajbale, said the victim had come to Koloshi village near Vasai, also in Palghar district, to attend the wedding of her cousin in May 2001.

“On May 21 (2001), Varta and his accomplices abducted the woman from the house of her relative. They took her to a nearby field where she was raped,” Bajbale said.

Varta was the main accused in the crime abetted by four others.

Police had registered an FIR under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for rape and other charges against five persons, including Varta.

Subsequently, four accused were arrested barring Varta who remained one step ahead of the police.

“Police were on the trail of Varta for several months. The breakthrough came after a tip-off about Varta’s frequent visits to Thanekarpada hamlet near Vasai for meeting his relatives, leading to his arrest on August 17,” police said.

A trial court sentenced three accused who had abetted the rape to rigorous imprisonment of five years on November 11, 2005, and fined each of them Rs 2,500. Another accused died during trial, a police official said.

Police will file a supplementary charge sheet against Varta, he said.