TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: After a long chase,
In a joint search operation by the Panjim, Porvorim and Old Goa police teams, the fugitive, aged 24, was located at Ameywada, Khandola along with his accomplice Anil Yadav and his lady friend, in a room which was rented out by one Augusto.
Speaking at a press conference, at the
The teams subsequently arrested another partner in crime Vijay Swami from Assagao and seized a camera and pistol with two-rounds .
The history-sheeter was on the run after escaping from a police van after being referred to
The police suspected Michael of executing the gun-point robbery wherein he along with two of his accomplices held family members hostage in their Porvorim house and decamped with gold ornaments and other valuables worth Rs 2.96-lakh.
On Friday, three unidentified men at the gunpoint and chopper tied Varsha Bhise and her mother with a saree and confined them in the bathroom while they ransacked the house.
They had threatened to kidnap the couple’s child if they raised an alarm and locked the door from outside after committing the offence. It was only after Varsha’s husband reached home, that they were released.
The police team got a tip-off when the complainants identified Michael from the photographs. “After executing the robbery, one of the thieves called the other as Michael. We showed the complainant’s photographs and they identified him as the same person,” Porvorim police said.
Police subsequently increased picketing across the State and resorted to intense checking of the vehicles and houses.
Yadav said Michael changes loyalties towards his gang members, especially after his members are apprehended by the police. His new members, who are now behind bars, were earlier involved in auto theft cases.
“He (Michael) forms new alliances so that police do not reach him. Since he would also change his locations very often it would become difficult to locate him,” DIG Yadav said, in the presence of North Goa SP Vaman Tari and PI Manoj.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the pistol recovered from the accused men was brought from
Labeling him as a hard-core interstate criminal, the DIG said Michael is likely to be involved in more than 50 cases after his escape last year.
Michael, who graduated from an auto thief to chain snatching, dacoity and now a dreaded criminal, has the art of trapping people emotionally.
“During interrogation he tells us that he comes from a broken family and there is nothing else to do. Our investigations have revealed that he took to drinking (alcohol) at an early age and then began stealing money for drinking. He thereafter got into petty thefts like chain snatching, stealing bikes, robbery, dacoity and more,” narrated DIG Yadav.
Admitting that lack of vigilance at the borders and sensitive places could have let the accused flee from Goa, DIG Yadav said the accused claimed he had decent employment in
“We do not believe him but nonetheless our investigation is underway… We might put him under some counselor but that again is too premature today,” he added.
The arrest came minutes before senior police officers could announce an extensive manhunt to trace Michael. The wanted criminal is also accused for accepting a contract to harm family members of Home Minister Ravi Naik.
Michael has a history of jail breaks, the last being on February 22, 2011 when he jumped from a moving police van and disappeared. He was recaptured on April 11, 2011 from a dense forest at Khola in Canacona.
The criminal is wanted across Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa, and his role in the recent murder of a 55-year-old security guard inside the
