Pune: Fugitive Ram Yallappa Sonawale was arrested on Saturday afternoon, about 20 years after he and 13 others had escaped from a police van near Mula road at Khadki.Constable Mohan Yelpale and Havaldar Umesh Kate of the crime branch, unit 1, received a tip-off that Sonawale was waiting near the parking lot at the Shivajinagar railway station. A team under senior inspector Nitin Bhosale-Patil arrested him around 2pm.Now 54, Sonawale from Shivajinagar and 13 others, including notorious criminal Santosh Ovhal — later killed in a police encounter — and Bhagwat Kale, an accused in the 1997 Patil family multiple murder case, had escaped from the police van on September 10,1998. Ovhal and his accomplices had hatched the escape conspiracy.According to the plan, one of the criminals ignited a match stick and set ablaze his shirt while they were on their way to Yerawada central prison after attending the court proceedings at the district and sessions court at Shivajinagar. In the ensuing commotion, the criminals got the police van ti stop and made a daring escape.A case of escaping from lawful custody was registered at the Khadki police station. A special team was constituted and a massive manhunt was launched for arresting the criminals. The team succeeded in arresting nine. Multiple murder suspect Kale was arrested a few years ago. But Sonawale and three others were elusive.Additional commissioner of police (retired) M S Maheshgauri had suspended the policemen for dereliction of duty. The van driver was sacked under Article 311 of the Indian Constitution after an inquiry revealed that he was responsible for stopping the van.Senior inspector Bhosale-Patil said, “Sonawale confessed that he was facing a trial in an attempt to murder case when he and the other undertrial prisoners had fled.”He said, “Sonawale took up up small-time jobs in Pune and Ahmednagar districts after escaping from the police custody. He asked people to address him as mama (uncle) but never disclosed his name.”Bhosale-Patil said, “We have handed him to the Khadki police for further action.”Criminal lawyer Mahesh Agarwal, who had represented the criminals facing trial for escaping from the police custody, told TOI, “A magisterial court at Khadki cantonment had convicted a few criminals. Some were awarded varying punishment after they pleaded guilty, while the others were acquitted because of lack of evidence. The chargesheet against the wanted criminals like Sonawale is pending.”

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