Palghar, Apr 22 (PTI) Police in Maharashtra’s Palghar district have arrested a man, wanted for killing his wife and raping his stepdaughter in 2004, from Dharavi slum in Mumbai after being on the run for 21 years, officials said on Tuesday.

The accused was found to have concealed his identity to evade arrest, they said.

“The accused, who is now 56 years old, was residing in Virar with his then 40-year-old wife and his stepdaughter,” Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Madan Ballal said during a press conference.

“At that time, he repeatedly raped his stepdaughter and impregnated her. When his wife confronted him and refused to stay with him, he lost his temper. Between May 19 and 20, 2004, the accused assaulted his wife by punching her and hitting her with a footwear. He lifted her and banged her on the floor, which led to her death,” he said.

Based on the complaint filed by the stepdaughter, a case under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 302 (murder), 376 (rape) and 504 (intentional insult) was registered against him, the police said.

“For specific legal reasons, his name cannot be disclosed at this time,” ACP Ballal said.

After committing the crime, the accused had fled from the spot and could not be traced all these years, he said.

“The police earlier carried out extensive searches for the accused in the Dharavi slum colony in Mumbai, but these efforts did not yield any results,” the ACP added.

Investigation into this crime was subsequently taken over by the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar police’s Crime Unit-II led by inspector Samir Ahirrao.

“The team pursued several leads, revisited the crime scene and met the complainant and witnesses and obtained an old photograph of the accused along with details of his previous employment. Initial inquiries brought to light that he had worked as a truck driver in Virar,” he added.

The police collected and verified the details of all truck drivers operating in Virar during that period, he said.

“The investigation finally brought to light that the accused had been living under a concealed identity, moving between Hyderabad, Gujarat and various other locations before finally settling in Mumbai’s Dharavi,” the official said.

With the 21-year-old photograph of the accused, the police teams carried out a thorough search in Dharavi to trace him.

“The police received a tip-off that a man resembling the accused was residing in the Badi Vasti area of Dharavi Main Road and was known as Idli alias Parvez. He was then tracked down and apprehended on Monday,” he said. PTI COR NP