Police crackdown on absconders

Nikhil Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 25

The city police have launched a drive against the absconders who have been evading arrest for the past several years. The PO wing of the Ludhiana Commissionerate has nabbed 32 proclaimed offenders in 23 days from August 1 to 23. They were wanted in various criminal cases, including drug smuggling, fraud, loot and theft.

The section concerned has prepared a list of absconders escaping arrest in drug smuggling cases and the PO wing has started tracing the whereabouts of such persons.

Inspector Prem Singh, chief of PO wing, Ludhiana police, told The Tribune that going by the arrest of 32 POs in 23 days, the wing had arrested more than one absconder on an average everyday.

“Now our target is to arrest a maximum number of absconders in drug smuggling cases. As per our record, there are about 50 POs wanted in drug smuggling cases of whom some have been arrested. Our team members are connecting dots to find out the hideouts of these offenders,” said Inspector Prem.

He also said lists of absconders in heinous crimes and major fraud cases had been prepared and in the coming few days, most of them would be behind bars.

2,600 POs in city

Sources said about 2,600 POs have been escaping arrest for years in the city. Sixtyseven fugitives are hiding in foreign countries, of them maximum 52 are in Nepal, followed by eight in Canada, two in France, four in the US and one in Dubai.