Ahmedabad: A mob of around 10,000 people, an elderly woman, and two unidentified labourers: These are among the official descriptions of fugitives listed in Gujarat Police’s absconder register. The record, which currently contains 1,682 entries, is meant to help police track down people evading arrest. But several entries are so vague that officers would struggle to tell who they are looking for, let alone where to find them.The most glaring example comes from a rioting case registered by the detection of crime branch (DCB) in 2017. The wanted identity is recorded simply as a “mob of around 10,000 people”. The entry does not identify any individual member, leaving police with little information on how to trace the accused.Maninagar police have a smaller but equally difficult target. A fugitive in a 2016 case is described only as a “man aged 40 to 42 years”. The entry contains no name that could help officers establish his identity.The mystery list does not end there. A 2015 Sanand case mentions an “unidentified woman near land”, while Shaherkotda police have an entry for an “unidentified elderly woman”. Chandkheda police, meanwhile, list “two unidentified labourers” as wanted.
A review of the register found that descriptions recorded when FIRs were lodged appear to have remained in the system for years without being updated. Names, photographs, verified addresses, and other identifying details are missing from some entries, severely limiting their usefulness in tracing the accused.The records throw up other oddities, too. In one case, a fugitive is identified only by his relationship to another accused. Names and aliases of some identified accused also differ across districts, raising questions about the accuracy and consistency of the database.Police officials said such descriptions usually originate at the FIR stage, when the identity of an accused is yet to be established. The problem arises when police stations fail to revise the entries after investigators gather more information.The result is a wanted list with a basic identity problem: Police may know that an accused is on the run, but the register does not always tell them who the person is.
