Convicted, Then Vanished: Pune Man Held 23 Years After Schoolboy's Death

Pune: The Padubidri police have arrested a Pune-based truck driver who had been on the run for 23 years after being convicted in a fatal road accident that claimed the life of a schoolboy. The accused has been identified as Vilas Shinde.

Police said the accident took place on 7th September 2002, at around 8.30 am near Muloor Masjid in Bada village on National Highway 66, within the jurisdiction of the Padubidri police station in the Udupi district of Karnataka state.

Shinde, a resident of Bhor tehsil in Maharashtra's Pune district, was allegedly driving a mini goods vehicle from Mangaluru towards Udupi in a rash and negligent manner when it struck a schoolboy walking along the roadside. The child succumbed to his injuries.

Following the incident, Padubidri police registered a case and filed a chargesheet against Shinde. After the trial, the court convicted him and sentenced him to three months' imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 1,000.

However, instead of serving the sentence, Shinde allegedly went into hiding and remained absconding for more than two decades. The court subsequently issued a long-pending case (LPC) warrant against him.

Acting on the directions of Udupi Superintendent of Police Hariram Shankar, a special police team launched efforts to trace the convict.

During the investigation, officers learnt that Shinde was working as a truck driver in Pune. Based on the information, the team tracked him down, arrested him, and produced him before the court.