New delhi, Aug. 5 -- A proclaimed offender allegedly linked to the Rohit Choudhary gang and wanted in an attempt-to-murder case inside Tihar Jail has been arrested after a 700-kilometre interstate pursuit, an official said on Wednesday.
Accused Rahul Rawat (28) was arrested by the Special Cell from Udaipur on July 18.
"Rawat had been declared a proclaimed offender in four criminal cases, including robbery and attempt to murder, after repeatedly evading arrest and failing to appear before courts," a senior police officer said. According to the police, Rawat was wanted in connection with a May 2023 case registered at Hari Nagar
Police Station in which a group of inmates allegedly attacked another prisoner inside Tihar Jail using improvised pointed weapons. Jail staff intervened in time, preventing the victim from being killed.
The victim was allegedly associated with the Randeep Bhati gang and later joined the Himanshu alias Bhau gang after his release from jail. Police said he was killed in an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh STF in Agra in February.
"After securing bail in the Tihar Jail case, Rawat allegedly went underground, frequently changed hideouts and avoided court proceedings in several other criminal cases, leading to his being declared a proclaimed offender," the officer said.
Acting on inputs received during surveillance on absconding gang members, the team traced Rawat's presence to a residential colony in Udaipur, nearly 700 kilometres from Delhi. He was apprehended on July 18 and brought to Delhi for further investigation, police said.
Police said that Rawat was a habitual offender with multiple criminal cases registered against him since 2016. His alleged involvement includes carjacking, kidnapping, robbery, criminal intimidation, possession of an illegal firearm and threatening a witness in a criminal trial. Further investigation is underway.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.