Gujarat police nab POCSO convict who fled court after 20-year sentence
Synopsis
A convicted POCSO and rape offender who had allegedly vanished from an Ahmedabad courtroom after being handed a 20-year sentence was tracked down Thursday evening — caught not by a dedicated manhunt but as part of a routine pre-Rath Yatra sweep. It is the third fugitive recovery by Gujarat Police in as many weeks, suggesting a systemic effort to close out long-pending conviction escapes.
Key Takeaways
Ahmedabad Police arrested Sultan alias Manoj Kumar, 42 , on Thursday evening after he allegedly fled court following a 20-year sentence .
The accused faces charges under the POCSO Act , rape provisions of the IPC , and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act .
The arrest was made during a special pre- Rath Yatra drive by Local Crime Branch Zone-7 to trace absconding convicts.
He had allegedly absconded from the court of the Seventh Additional District and Sessions Judge, Ahmedabad (Rural) .
Gujarat Police has made at least three high-profile fugitive arrests in recent weeks, including a life convict in the 1992 Radhika Gymkhana massacre case.
Ahmedabad Police arrested a 42-year-old man on Thursday evening who had allegedly absconded from court after being sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment in a case involving charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, rape, and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The accused, identified as Sultan alias Manoj Kumar, a resident of the Fatehwadi area of Ahmedabad, was apprehended during a targeted operation ahead of the annual Rath Yatra festival.
How the Arrest Unfolded
The operation was part of a coordinated drive launched by the Local Crime Branch (Zone-7) on directions from the city's top police brass to trace absconding offenders and reinforce public safety during the festival season. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-7) Shivam Verma directed police stations and the LCB to draw up a special action plan, combining human intelligence and technical inputs.
The breakthrough came when Police Sub-Inspector H.D. Vaghela and his team were conducting patrols in the Zone-7 area. Head Constables Nashrullakhan and Mahendrasinh, along with Police Constable Irfan, acted on specific intelligence that led directly to Kumar's arrest. He had allegedly fled the court of the Seventh Additional District and Sessions Judge in Ahmedabad (Rural) following sentencing.
Charges Against the Accused
Kumar faces conviction under Sections 363, 366, 376(2)(N), 419 and 114 of the Indian Penal Code, alongside Sections 4, 5(L), 6 and 8 of the POCSO Act, and Sections 3(2), 3(5-A) and 3(2)(5) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The charges collectively reflect a serious pattern of offences involving the sexual exploitation of a child from a marginalised community.
Part of a Broader Crackdown on Fugitives
The arrest is the latest in a series of fugitive recoveries by Gujarat Police. Earlier the same week, the Ahmedabad Crime Branch arrested a life convict in the 1992 Radhika Gymkhana massacre case who had allegedly remained at large for nearly seven years after jumping parole. The month prior, authorities launched a manhunt after a convict serving sentences in both murder and POCSO cases escaped from Sabarmati Central Jail before being traced.
Notably, all three recoveries point to a sustained institutional push by Gujarat Police to clear a backlog of convicted fugitives — a category that often falls through the cracks once a verdict is delivered and attention moves on.
What Comes Next
Kumar is expected to be produced before the court and formally taken into custody to serve his sentence. With the Rath Yatra drawing large crowds across Ahmedabad, police have indicated that preventive operations will continue through the festival period, with wanted and convicted offenders remaining priority targets.
Point of View
The gap between sentencing and actual custody is a structural vulnerability that this case puts back in focus.
NationPress
26 Jun 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Sultan alias Manoj Kumar, arrested by Ahmedabad Police?
Sultan alias Manoj Kumar is a 42-year-old resident of the Fatehwadi area in Ahmedabad who was convicted in a case involving POCSO, rape, and SC/ST Atrocities Act offences and sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment. He allegedly fled the court of the Seventh Additional District and Sessions Judge in Ahmedabad (Rural) after sentencing and was arrested on Thursday evening by the Local Crime Branch Zone-7.
What charges does the arrested POCSO convict face?
The accused faces conviction under Sections 363, 366, 376(2)(N), 419, and 114 of the Indian Penal Code, Sections 4, 5(L), 6, and 8 of the POCSO Act, and Sections 3(2), 3(5-A), and 3(2)(5) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The charges cover kidnapping, rape, sexual offences against a child, and atrocities against a member of a scheduled community.
Why did Gujarat Police launch the special drive that led to this arrest?
The drive was ordered ahead of the annual Rath Yatra festival in Ahmedabad to trace absconding and wanted offenders and strengthen preventive policing during a period of large public gatherings. The city police commissioner and joint commissioner directed a coordinated operation targeting convicted fugitives involved in serious crimes.
Is this the only recent fugitive arrest by Gujarat Police?
No. Earlier the same week, the Ahmedabad Crime Branch arrested a life convict in the 1992 Radhika Gymkhana massacre case who had allegedly been on the run for nearly seven years after jumping parole. The previous month, a convict serving sentences in murder and POCSO cases who had escaped from Sabarmati Central Jail was also traced and arrested.
What happens to the accused now?
Sultan alias Manoj Kumar is expected to be produced before the court and formally taken into custody to begin serving his 20-year sentence. No further charges from the absconding period have been publicly confirmed as of the time of reporting.
