Parole jumper’s Bollywood run ends in Ahmedabad; murder convict used multiple IDs, acted in films for 12 years

AHMEDABAD: If a murder convict jumps parole, you would expect him to disappear into hiding. But Hemant Nagindas Modi allegedly spent the last decade quite brazenly in front of the camera. For nearly 12 years, the 53-year-old — known in entertainment circles as Spandan Modi and sometimes Twinkle Dave — acted alongside some of Bollywood’s biggest stars even as he remained listed as a fugitive in police records.

His run finally ended on Wednesday when the Ahmedabad Crime Branch arrested him from a rented house near Gheekanta Metro Station in connection with a 2005 murder case.

Police said Modi had been convicted in the murder of Narendra Kamble during a violent neighbourhood clash in Naroda. Along with six others, Modi was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2008 and was lodged in Sabarmati and, later, Mehsana jail.

In July 2014, the Gujarat high court granted him 30 days’ parole. And, he never came back.

Police said Modi vanished quietly by first slipping into Gujarat’s theatre circuit, before gradually reinventing himself and building a career in Mumbai’s entertainment industry.

He was not doing just small gigs. During the years he was officially absconding, police said Modi acted as a supporting actor in several major movie productions, including “Thugs of Hindostan” starring Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan; “Jayeshbhai Jordaar” starring Ranveer Singh; “Metro In Dino” that featured Konkana Sen Sharma and Pankaj Tripathi; “Lahore 1947” starring Sunny Deol and Vicky Kaushal; and the big-budget Malayalam film “L2: Empuraan” featuring Mohanlal and Prithviraj.

He also appeared in Hindi and Gujarati television serials and web series while maintaining a visible profile in entertainment circles.

A Crime Branch officer said, “After fleeing parole, he initially lived in Patan before moving to Mumbai where he kept changing paying guest accommodation. To avoid detection, he changed his looks and identities repeatedly, and completely cut off contact with his past life.”

Another officer said, “He was so confident that he began to work openly in films, serials, and theatre.”

Police said the breakthrough came after they received specific intelligence suggesting Modi had recently returned to Ahmedabad, apparently believing enough time had passed for him to move around unnoticed.

The cops verified old court and jail records before zeroing in on his location near Gheekanta, ending a decade-long manhunt that exposed glaring gaps in coordination between law enforcement agencies and the entertainment industry.

Officers said Modi initially tried to project himself as a law-abiding actor before eventually confessing to his real identity after being grilled by cops who showed him documents while establishing his identity.