Mumbai: The city crime branch arrested a dreaded criminal, wanted in a gang rape and a murder case in 2014. He had been on run for the past five years. The 34-year-old accused, Arumugam Devendra, alias Kundumani Raja alias Peta Raja, is a native of Tamil Nadu.
According to the police, total 11 serious offences, including murder, gang rape, extortion and kidnapping, have been filed against him in Mumbai, Thane and Tamil Nadu.
The Crime Branch said recently, Devendra committed a murder in Virudhnagar, Tamil Nadu. To evade the arrest, he came to Mumbai and was hiding in Kandivali. On a tip-off that Devendra was coming to Ashok Nagar in Kandivali on Tuesday, the Crime Branch sleuths laid a trap and arrested him.
Devendra, a dreaded gangster in Tamil Nadu, has committed offences in Mumbai as well. In 2014, Devendra’s gang were planning to rob a hawala operator. To execute their plot, they hired a car on March 1, 2014. They murdered the driver and fled with the car.
In another incident, Devendra and his associates had gang raped a woman after severely injuring her husband on May 26, 2014. The accused recorded the incident and threatened the woman with dire consequences if she reported the matter to the police.
Aarey police had registered a case of gang rape, attempt to murder, robbery and under the Information and Technology Act and arrested the four accused. But, Devendra remained absconding.
Police said after committing serious offences, Devendra fled to Tamil Nadu and remained underground. He was arrested by local police in a murder, but Mumbai police could not trace him.
In March, Devendra committed a murder in Virudhnagar, Tamil Nadu and fled to Mumbai. CB unit 12 got a tip-off about Devendra hiding in Kandivali. He was held and handed over to Aarey police.