Noida, Apr 18 (PTI) The Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh Police on Monday said it has arrested an alleged criminal who had escaped from a court in 2019 and was hiding in Gujarat.

Sunil (42), alias Sawal, had been living under a fake identity in Gujarat and prior to that he had taken refuge in Madhya Pradesh since fleeing UP, the STF said.

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He was held by the Noida unit of the STF from Gujarat and brought to Bulandshahr, where the FIR was lodged against him for escaping from the court, officials said.

"Sunil was a member of the 'Axel Gang' which targeted commuters on highways in western Uttar Pradesh. The gang looted people and raped women. His gang was part of the nomadic group of criminals," Additional Superintendent of Police (STF) Raj Kumar Mishra said.

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"Sunil along with some gang members was arrested but he had escaped during a court hearing in January 2019," Mishra said.

The UP STF was investigating this case and got information about Sunil's presence in Surendranagar, Gujarat, where he was living under a different name, the officer said.

When apprehended, he told police that he is some other person but when he was brought to Bulandshahr after due procedures, it was confirmed that he is the same person and hence arrested, the officer said.

During interrogation, he revealed that the he was absconding in one more case in which a court in Haryana's Narnaul had sentenced him to seven years in jail, Mishra said.

He said Sunil informed the STF that after fleeing from UP, he had lived for some time in Madhya Pradesh as well before settling down in Gujarat under a fake identity.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)