Mumbai: Around 450 police personnel of the Mumbai crime branch fanned out across the country in the past one year and nabbed 217 absconders and 106 wanted accused as a part of the special drive that was launched after court in Mumbai expressed concerns over the issue.

The number of absconders and wanted accused runs into several hundreds and officials said sustained efforts are required to track them down, which also includes questioning those bail them out from the court. All of the 12 zonal units and cells including the property, anti-extortion and crime intelligence wing of the crime branch were part of the massive drive that was conducted between January 2016 and 2017, officials said.

While stating the difference between the absconders and wanted accused, officials said that the accused persons who jump bail, parole or furlough are declared as absconders by the court.  

“The number of absconders and wanted accused increases with passage of time. Hence, a special drive was conducted to nab as many people as possible. All the units were asked to crack down on the absconding accused with focus on those who booked in serious cases,” said Sanjeev Saxena, joint commissioner of police (crime). Maharashtra is among the states where maximum convicts have jumped parole. The NCRB data confirms Maharashtra registering 2,292 parole jumping cases between 2004 and 2014.