Mangaluru: City police commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy CH said the Mangaluru City police initiated stern action against sureties in cases where rowdy-sheeters and accused in serious crimes absconded after being released on bail. As part of the special drive, police identified 38 absconding accused against whom 48 warrants were pending, with cases dating back to between 1998 and 2023. During this period, about 15 rowdy-sheeters were traced and arrested, enabling trial proceedings in the concerned cases to resume.He told reporters on Saturday, that all police stations in the city limits, over the past 6 months, were directed to give special focus to long-pending cases (LPCs) involving grave offences such as communal murders, murder, rape, stone-pelting incidents, robbery and dacoity, in which the accused evaded trial after securing bail. In several serious cases, rowdy-sheeters misuse the bail granted by courts and deliberately avoid attending trial proceedings. In response, police began initiating legal action against the sureties who stood guarantee for such accused, explained Commissioner Reddy.So far, fines ranging from Rs 10,000 to over Rs 1 lakh have been imposed on 11 sureties. In addition, properties belonging to 17 sureties, including houses, land and other assets, were attached and recorded in RTC. While the sureties may continue to reside in or use the attached properties, they are barred from selling, transferring or otherwise alienating them, he said.“One must exercise due diligence when standing as sureties for rowdy-sheeters or accused in serious cases. Sureties are responsible for ensuring that the accused comply with bail conditions and attend court proceedings without absconding,” he said.He also revealed that two separate cases were registered against individuals who acted as fake sureties in serious criminal cases. One suspect absconding in 1997 dacoity-cum-murder caseReferring to the 1997 dacoity-cum-murder case registered at Urwa police station, in which two persons were killed by the notorious Dandupalya gang, the police commissioner said that a suspect in the case is still absconding. He said that eight persons were involved in the crime, of whom six were arrested. Of the remaining two accused, Chikka Hanuma was arrested recently in Andhra Pradesh. He said that Chikka Hanuma was convicted in eight cases, including three in which he was awarded the death penalty.
