In a remarkable development, the Colaba Police in Mumbai have arrested a man who had been on the run for nearly five decades. The accused, Chandrashekhar Madhukar Kalekar (71), was wanted in a 1977 attempt-to-murder case and had managed to evade the law for 48 years.
According to police officials, the case was registered against Kalekar in 1977 after he allegedly attacked his girlfriend in Colaba with a knife, suspecting her of infidelity. At that time, the accused then 23 years old was arrested and later released on bail. However, he failed to appear before the court on subsequent hearing dates.
Despite repeated warrants issued against him, Kalekar never resurfaced, leading the court to declare him a proclaimed offender. Over the years, police efforts to trace him yielded no success, as the area where he lived Haji Kasam Chawl in Lalbaug underwent redevelopment, and Kalekar had shifted to unknown locations.
Six months ago, the Colaba Police reopened the old case and launched a fresh investigation. They began by visiting his last known address in Lalbaug, only to find the chawl redeveloped. The police then conducted extensive searches across several parts of Mumbai, but Kalekar remained untraceable.
Officers also checked voter lists, RTO records, and court databases, which initially provided no leads. The breakthrough came when they discovered a 2015 case registered at Dapoli Police Station in Ratnagiri district, involving a road accident in which Kalekar had allegedly injured another person while driving.
Using that information, the police traced him to Dapoli. Although unsure whether he still lived at the address recorded in that case, a police team visited the location late on Monday night and found Kalekar at home.
According to a police officer, “He was shocked to see Colaba Police at his doorstep after 48 years and had almost forgotten about the case. It was difficult to identify him as we only had an old photograph, but during interrogation, he confessed to the crime.”
Kalekar was produced before the court, which has remanded him to judicial custody.