A 78-year-old man who was charged with stealing two cows and a leg in 1965 has been detained by police in the southwestern Indian state of Karnataka.
When Ganapati Vitthal Wagore and another man were initially detained for the alleged theft 58 years ago, he was 20 years old.
Authorities claimed that after being released on bail, they vanished and could not be located. His co-accused passed away in 2006.
Wagore was released on bail last week by a judge due to his advanced years following his re-arrest.
A few weeks ago, when a police team decided to make one last effort to locate the gentlemen after perusing old records of ongoing investigations, the case— which had been dormant— came to light.
The theft happened in Karnataka’s Bidar area. Wagore, however, was both occasions apprehended from various settlements in the neighboring state of Maharashtra.
According to police, Wagore and Krishna Chander confessed to stealing the animals in 1965, and after being brought before a native court, they were given conditional bail.
However, the two gentlemen stopped responding to call and warrants after being freed.
The two gentlemen, who worked as agricultural laborers, were no located despite police squads from Bidar being dispatched to settlements in Karnataka and nearby Maharashtra.
The case was re-opened last month. “My colleagues began making inquiries among the residents of Umarga village,” Chennabasavanna Langoti, police chief of Bidar district, told Hindi on BBC. Wagore was arrested in 1965 from Umarga in Maharashtra.
The elderly lady was then located by the police, who believed she may recall the incident. When we spoke to her, she innocently informed my coworkers that Wagore was still intact, according to Mr. Langoti.
The biggest tip the authorities had received in more than 50 years came from the girl, who pointed them to Thakalagaon community in Maharashtra’s Nanded area.
When the crew went to the community, the locals informed him that a man by the name of Wagore had been residing in the nearby church.
Wagore confessed to being” too scared to go to the judge” and identified himself as the officers.
The Legal Aid Society attorney who represented him on his behalf was finally brought up to Karnataka with him.
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