The Hindu : Notorious criminal Umesh Reddy nabbed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 18, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka-Bangalore

Notorious criminal Umesh Reddy nabbed

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE May 17. The notorious criminal, Umesh Reddy, wanted in several cases of rape and murder, was nabbed while walking out of a haircutting saloon in Yeshwanthpur police station limits on Friday morning. Reddy, who escaped from police custody five times, was caught following a tip-off by an autorickshaw driver.

On arrival from Tumkur in a lorry, Reddy went for a haircut around 8 a.m. The autorickshaw driver, Shaktivel, who saw him recollected Reddy's photograph published in a newspaper and called the Yeshwanthpur police. The police inspector, Nagaraja Urs, caught Reddy as he was walking out of the saloon.

Aware of Reddy's past, onlookers, who were witness to the whole drama, wanted to rough him up, but police pacified them and took him away.

Reddy escaped from police custody at Hiriyur bypass on March 4 while he was being brought in a KSRTC bus to Bangalore by the District Armed Reserve (DAR) personnel of Bellary. While police claimed that he was handcuffed at that time, Reddy denied it on his arrest.

During interrogation, he told the Yeshwanthpura police that he consumed liquor along with the escorting policemen and gave them the slip on the pretext of going to answer nature's call.

After his escape, he allegedly committed three rapes and four thefts in Davangere, Hubli-Dharwad, Belgaum, and Pune.

While working as a server in a Pune hotel, he is said to have stolen money from the hotel cashbox and fled to Dharwad.

Reddy's first escape from police custody was in Parashuramapura in Challakere taluk of Chitradurga District. Later, he gave the slip to the police near Ramapura in the same taluk. He was later caught, but he escaped again.

His fourth escape was from the Central Crime Branch (CCB) custody.

In all, Reddy has 19 cases pending against him, including four in Chitradurga, four in Peenya, two each in MICO Layout and Baroda (Gujarat), and one each in Bellary, Kunigal, Yeshwanthpur, Jalahalli, and Hiriyur.

The City Police Commissioner, H.T. Sangliana, handed over a cheque for Rs. 20,000 to Shaktivel, who was instrumental in securing Reddy's arrest.

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Notorious criminal Umesh Reddy nabbed