Ahmedabad: He thought it was all behind him. Then, just days before his daughter’s wedding, a 53-year-old man from Ulhasnagar in Maharashtra was arrested for a crime he allegedly committed more than 30 years ago.
The charge? Stealing a motorcycle in Ahmedabad back in 1992. Mahesh Sindhi thought the case was closed long ago and had since built a peaceful life, running a business and raising a family. But a police campaign to resolve old cases brought his name back into focus and the law caught up with him this week.
The man, Mahesh Sindhi, was then a resident of Khanpur in the old city area of Ahmedabad. According to police, he was accused of stealing a two-wheeler but vanished from the radar as the case remained unresolved and forgotten among numerous pending cases for years.
In the meantime, Sindhi moved to Ulhasnagar, started a successful handicrafts wholesale business, raised a family, and believed the case was long behind him.
But last year, Karanj police began re-investigating several cold cases and dug into an old FIR about the vehicle theft. They tracked Sindhi using technical surveillance and arrested him on Wednesday. Inspector P T Chaudhary said, “The complainant, co-accused, and even key witnesses have all died. The stolen vehicle was recovered during a Lok Adalat years ago. There’s hardly anything left to prosecute — except the man himself.”
Sindhi was reportedly devastated by the arrest and pleaded with police to delay action until after his daughter’s wedding, scheduled for next week. “He thought his lawyer settled the case years ago. He didn’t run; he simply moved on,” said Chaudhary. “But the law doesn’t forget.”
“His advocate told him that his case was over, and he was a free man. Relieved, he began a business as a wholesale trader. He started a family life and had kids. He was unaware of any such consequences until he was caught on Wednesday,” said Chaudhary.
Despite his appeals, Sindhi remains in custody. According to Karanj police sources, they could not accommodate his request due to the long-pending case against him.