Bhandup police arrest murder accused absconding for 29 years

The Bhandup police have arrested a 61-year-old man on August 18, 2026, who had been absconding for 29 years after being accused in three cases of murder, attempt to murder, and dacoity registered between 1989 and 1991, police said on Tuesday (August 25, 2026).

The accused, identified as Ravindra alias Pamplet Eknath Vichare, was arrested from Ashutosh Lodge in Karmala in Solapur district after investigators received information that he had been living under a changed name and address, according to the police.

The cases registered against him include a 1990 murder case under Sections 302, 147, 148, 149 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code; a 1991 attempt-to-murder case under Sections 307 and 34; and a 1989 case under Sections 397 and 114 relating to robbery or dacoity involving the use of a deadly weapon.

Vichare had been absconding since 1997 and was declared an absconder by a Sessions Court in Mumbai. Non-bailable standing warrants had been issued against him in all three cases, police said.

Assistant Police Inspector Dipak Dalvi, who had been transferred to the Bhandup station a month and a half ago, began investigating this case without any information available, owing to the length of time he had been absconding. Through his investigation, he found out that the accused’s son was living in the Bhandup area itself. “When I was handed this case, through some investigation, I found out that his son was living in the Bhandup area itself. We found him and were able to get the accused’s number,” Mr. Dalvi said.

After tracing his SIM card, the police found that he was living in Karmala, Solapur. A team led by API Dalvi was sent to Solapur. “We found him working as a cook in Ashutosh Lodge in Karmala and arrested him there. When we questioned him, he confessed to committing the murders,” Mr. Dalvi said.

Following his arrest, Vichare was produced before the Sessions Court in connection with the 1990 murder case and was remanded to judicial custody, police said.