Convict who beheaded Gujarat dealer, jumped parole, held after 12 years on run
In October 1994, Satish Himmatlal Rupa Relia and Rajan Panchal lured textile dealer Arvind Shah from Ahmedabad’s Kalupur to Neelam Lodge within the metropolis’s Shahibaug space on the pretext of a reduced silk deal, asking him to carry money. The 2 took Shah to a room and tried to rob him of gold rings, a sequence, and money at knifepoint earlier than stabbing him round 30 to 35 instances and killing him when he resisted and tried to grab their knife.
Relia and Panchal severed Shah’s head with a pointy weapon to stop identification, put it in a bag, and disposed of it in Gandhinagar’s Adalaj space, leaving the headless physique within the lodge room. Shah’s son would establish the physique by garments, ornaments, and a surgical scar.
In April 2000, a periods courtroom convicted Relia of homicide, theft, and legal conspiracy and sentenced him to demise. The Gujarat excessive courtroom commuted the sentence to life imprisonment in 2001.
Relia, who was additionally sentenced to 5 years in a counterfeit forex case, was declared a parole jumper in 2014 and remained absconding till Might 2026.
Police mentioned Relia additionally absconded between 2004 and 2008, evading arrest by staying in visitor homes below pretend names throughout Ahmedabad and Surat. After leaping parole in 2014, he modified his identification, used aliases, and distanced himself from previous contacts whereas dwelling a daily life along with his second spouse and her two youngsters, unaware of his legal previous, in Ahmedabad to evade arrest.
Police on Monday mentioned he modified his title to Sanjay Thakkar by a gazette notification in 2017, a course of that requires public discover in two native newspapers, serving to blow his cowl. They mentioned the breakthrough got here after technical evaluation of data, together with the gazette title change. A discipline verification helped hyperlink his outdated identification with the brand new one.
Deputy police commissioner Ajit Rajiyan mentioned technical evaluation and discipline work helped them hint and apprehend Relia.
Police groups traced his residence, carried out surveillance to substantiate his identification and actions, apprehended him, and introduced him earlier than a courtroom, which remanded him in judicial custody. “He settled in New Ranip [Ahmedabad]the place he lived with a second spouse and her two youngsters, who had been unaware of his legal previous,” mentioned the officer.
Relia maintained a distance from his 85-year-old father and sisters, regardless that they lived in Ahmedabad. He opened an workplace in Ahmedabad’s Prahladnagar and began a enterprise, sustaining a low profile.
