Udupi: Padubidri police have arrested a truck driver from Pune, Maharashtra, who had been absconding for 23 years after being convicted in a fatal road accident case in which a schoolboy was killed. The accused is Vilas Shinde.According to police, on Sept 7, 2002, at 8.30 am, near Muloor Masjid in Bada village on NH-66, within the Padubidri police station limits, a mini goods vehicle, driven by Vilas Shinde of Bhor, Pune district, Maharashtra, was moving from Mangaluru towards Udupi. The driver was allegedly driving in a rash and negligent manner. The vehicle hit a schoolboy who was walking by the roadside, resulting in the boy’s death.A case was registered at Padubidri police station, and a chargesheet was filed against the accused driver before the court. After trial, the court found the driver guilty and sentenced him to three months imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1,000.After the court verdict, he had been absconding for 23 years. The court had issued an LPC warrant against him. As per the directions of Udupi district SP Hariram Shankar, a police team gathered information about the convict. Acting on information that the accused was working as a truck driver in Pune, police traced and arrested him. He was later produced before a court.
