Man on run for 24 years after killing passenger, arrested finally

 

By Sagaya Fernando | May 29, 2025

 

Palghar, Maharashtra, INDIA: A man accused of fatally stabbing a passenger during a fare dispute in 2001 has been arrested after more than two decades on the run, police in the western Indian state of Maharashtra said on Wednesday, May 28.

 

The accused, identified as Harun Ali Mustakin Ali Sayyed, 43, was detained on May 27 in Talasari, located in Maharashtra’s Palghar district. Sayyed was formerly an autorickshaw driver and had been absconding since the killing occurred in October 2001.

 

According to Senior Inspector Shahuraj Ranawre of the Mira-Bhayander Vasai-Virar Police, the victim, Moharam Ali Mohammad Ibrahim Ali, 56, died within an hour of being repeatedly stabbed on October 14, 2001, following an argument over the auto fare.

 

Sayyed had managed to evade capture for 24 years, remaining untraceable despite initial investigations. The case was recently reopened by Crime Branch Unit-III as part of an initiative to resolve unsolved homicides.

 

“Our team began actively working on the cold case approximately five months ago,” said Inspector Ranawre. “We reached out to the victim’s relatives, re-interviewed old witnesses, and deployed informants across Mumbai.”

 

Investigators also conducted field inquiries in Sayyed’s native village in Uttar Pradesh, eventually locating him with the help of technical surveillance and human intelligence.

 

Sayyed has since been handed over to Virar Police for further investigation and legal proceedings.