After 45 years on the run, wheat theft worth Rs 100 in 1980 lands MP man in jail

KHARGONE: An elderly man in Madhya Pradesh learnt the hard way that the law not only has long arms but also a long memory, after he was arrested in a wheat theft case registered more than 45 years ago.

Salim and six others had allegedly stolen wheat from fields in the Balsamund Kakad area in 1980, when he was just 20, Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (Mandleshwar) Shweta Shukla told news agency PTI on Sunday.


The stolen produce was worth about Rs 100 at the time, she said, adding that a quintal (100 kg) of good-quality wheat then cost Rs 115 — roughly Rs 1.15 per kg.

After the theft, Salim, a resident of Balkhad village under Balakwada police station limits, went absconding and later settled into a quiet life. He ran a grocery shop with his son in Bag town of neighbouring Dhar district, police said.

The case, however, remained pending in court, and a warrant was issued against him.

Salim was finally traced to his shop in Bag during a cyber cell-assisted search for another accused and arrested on Saturday. During questioning, he told police he believed the case had been forgotten over the decades and that he was no longer at risk of legal action, said Khaltaka outpost in-charge Mithun Chauhan.

Salim, son of Mujahid, was produced before a local court, which remanded him to judicial custody, Chauhan added.
(With agency inputs)