A police team in Indore, Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday has arrested a criminal with a reward of 50 paise on his head for threatening a witness in a murder case, an official said.
The city police have launched a unique campaign to announce token rewards against absconding criminals. Talking to reporters, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Vinod Kumar Meena said that accused Saurabh Gaur alias Bittu (24) was arrested from the city’s Gandhi Nagar area.
Gaur, who is a prime accused in a murder case, had fled after threatening a witness in the case in Malharganj area to change his statement in court, he said.
A reward of 50 paise was announced for Gaur’s arrest as per his “status” in the eyes of police, he added. “We are announcing token rewards of nominal amounts on absconding criminals. The purpose of this is to send a message to criminals that no matter how big a goon they think they are, the police will arrest them and take strict action,” Meena said.
Gaur, who is facing 11 criminal cases across various police stations, had been absconding for several days. Meena said that they received information from a citizen about Gaur’s whereabouts which was verified by their intelligence unit and led them to the accused. When police reached his door, he jumped from the balcony to evade but ended up fracturing his leg. The police will also take action against the man who had given shelter to the accused.
After the 50 paise reward announcement went viral on social media, Gaur reportedly deactivated his Instagram account to avoid embarrassment, he said.