After nearly a decade on the run, a suspect in a 2017 Karnataka murder case has been apprehended in Bengaluru, bringing a long manhunt to a close.
A man who had been absconding for nearly nine years in connection with a 2017 murder case was arrested by Mangaluru crime branch police in Bengaluru, officials said on Saturday.
The accused, Sufiyan alias Kotreshi (31), was apprehended near Shyampur Railway Gate in Bengaluru, they said.
Police said he was allegedly involved in the abduction and murder of Sapnan in Surathkal in 2017.
According to police, the victim was abducted, assaulted and later murdered by the gang, which subsequently disposed of the body in the forest area near Agumbe in Shivamogga district.
Sufiyan had been absconding since the incident and moved across several places, including Ballari, Mumbai and parts of Andhra Pradesh to evade arrest, investigators said.
Police said the accused later settled in Bengaluru under a changed identity as Mohammed Sufiyan Hussain and allegedly obtained documents such as an Aadhaar card, passport and driving licence in that name.
He had earlier been arrested in 2012 by the Brucepet Police Station in a murder case registered for allegedly killing an elderly woman during a chain-snatching attempt.
Police said the accused had spent around four years in jail in that case before securing bail.
Four criminal cases, including murder, extortion and theft, are registered against him, police said, adding that he has been handed over to Surathkal police for further investigation.