Surat: The Prevention of Crime Branch (PCB) of Surat City police arrested a murder-and-robbery accused from a remote Naxal-affected area of Jharkhand, ending his 25-year-long run from the law.The accused, Mithilesh Bhumihar (47), was wanted in connection with a 2001 murder and robbery case registered at Udhna and Limbayat police stations in Surat.According to PCB police inspector R S Suvera, police received intelligence that Bhumihar was hiding in a Naxal-affected area of Jharkhand. After verifying the information, the team traced him to Siramtola village under Pipratand police station in Palamu district.An operation was then planned to arrest him without raising suspicion. ASI Hasmukhbhai Mohanbhai and head constable Ashok Luni travelled to the village and posed as postmen. Carrying a letter addressed to Bhumihar, the cops reached his residence and apprehended him.Police said Bhumihar was involved in the armed robbery of a petrol pump in Udhna, during which the petrol pump manager was killed in firing. He was carrying a weapon during the crime and remained absconding for years.The Surat police commissioner had declared a reward for his arrest and Bhumihar was listed among the 16 most-wanted accused in Surat, with a Rs 20,000 reward on his arrest.PCB said it has arrested 56 criminals over the past three years who had been wanted for more than a decade. Of these, 16 were carrying rewards for information leading to their arrest.
