Elderly Madhya Pradesh man arrested after 45 years for stealing 90 kg of wheat

59-year-old Salim had been absconding since 1980 after allegedly stealing 90 kg of wheat worth Rs 184, when the rate was Rs 2.05 per kg.

A man accused of stealing 90 kilograms of wheat in Madhya Pradesh in 1980 has been arrested after spending 45 years on the run, police in Khargone district said.

The accused, identified as Salim, now 59, was picked up from Bag town in neighbouring Dhar district, where he had been living under a concealed identity and running a small grocery shop with his son. At the time of the alleged theft, the value of the wheat was Rs 184, with the rate fixed at Rs 2.05 per kilogram.

Police said the case dated back to 1980, when seven people were booked for stealing wheat kept in a field near the Balsamud area, around 80 km from the Khargone district. Warrants were issued against the accused, but two of them went absconding. Over the years, two of the seven accused died, while four others secured bail. Salim remained untraced until now.

SDOP Shweta Shukla said the arrest was made during a special drive launched to trace long-pending absconding warrant holders. "On the directions of senior officers, teams were activated to locate permanent absconders. While verifying an old 1980 theft case, we found that one accused was still missing. He was tracked and arrested from Bag in Dhar district," she said.

According to police, Salim had changed his identity and settled just about 90 km from the crime spot. He was running a kirana store and had managed to avoid detection for decades. After his arrest, he was produced before the Kasrawad court and sent to judicial custody.

Officials said the breakthrough came when police went to search for another accused named Salim in Dewas, only to learn that he had died. During inquiries with the family, officers received information that the other absconding accused, Salim, was living in Bag. The lead eventually resulted in the arrest.